Chaser
by sslacyhadals
Summary: Chaser is a pony from the distant, wintry village of Snowfall. Growing up the only pony without a cutie mark , he feels ostracized and alone. He leaves his home, embarking on a quest to find himself, and find acceptance for who he is. Ending up in Ponyville, he discovers for himself an age old truth - it isn't what people can see on the outside that matters most...
1. Leaving

**Day**** 1**

My name is Chaser. Not Lightning Chaser, or Star Chaser, or even Flower Chaser. It's just plain old Chaser. And that's what I am – plain. I've grown up in Snowfall as the only pony without a cutie mark. The other fillies and colts always made fun of me in school, called me a blank flank. That was a long time ago. Now they tell their little ones to find their talent or they'll end up 'chasing' after their cutie marks forever, like me.

Yesterday, I decided I'd had enough of the veiled insults and sideways glances. Sure, they don't call me names to my face anymore, but they don't have to. Everyone knows I know, and no one says anything about it when I'm around. No one's really said anything about it in a long time, actually, except for the occasional slip and apology. I've tried to take it in stride, but at the end of the day, it's so hard not to feel like a failure, you know?

The turning point came in a conversation at my job. I work- well, worked- as a cloud keeper at the local weather depot. It wasn't hard work, but it wasn't particularly interesting, either. It was warehouse work, moving clouds from one staging area to the next, checking to see if they're ready to be used or if they need to sit and cool, and making sure lightning clouds don't get mixed in with the snow clouds accidently. Lots of forms and footwork.

I had just finished my last afternoon break, and I was heading back in to take a look at the late arrivals for processing, when I overheard Warming Ember and Cloudy Skies talking over by the receiving bay.

"-was just so excited. I was, too, you know?"

"Well, yeah, you should be! Getting his cutie mark is one of the greatest things a colt can do, you know? So he's an artist, huh?"

"Yeah. His mom's so proud. I'd hoped he'd be a little more outdoorsy like his old man, but hey, a gift is a gift. He _is_ good with a brush."

I hesitated, more out of habit than nervousness. I knew as soon as I came around the corner they'd stop talking about it. Warming Ember's son had gotten his cutie mark. That was great. Another colt who'd found his talent, while mine still eluded me.

I'd waited long enough, and I did need to get past them to work, so with a reserved sigh, I walked out into their view. Sure enough, as soon as the two of them spied me, their conversation stopped.

"Hey, Ember. Cloudy. How's it going?"

Ember tried to crack a smile, but it faltered just a bit at the edges. "Hey, Chaser. It's good. Good-" he pawed the ground awkwardly "-You?"

"Eh, can't complain. So, I hear little Broad Strokes got his mark the other day."

"Uh, yeah. Ye-yesterday morning. He, uh, he was almost late to school, he was so excited… I mean, kids, they get crazy about stuff like that."

"Uh-huh. So he's gonna be a painter or something?"

"Uh, yeah, looks like it. His mom's happy with it." He chuckled, but it was a nervous chuckle.

"Well, that's great." I tried to smile, but all I could really manage was a look of general approval. "I'm really happy for you guys."

"Um, thanks, Chaser." He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but near me.

I didn't need to be in this room anyways. "Well, you guys have a good one." I trotted off towards the incoming storage room, where I'd be safely alone, to move clouds and check invoices yet again.

The tension in the room evaporated as I left, and I heard Cloudy Skies let out a low whistle behind me. I stopped just outside the doorway, though why I'm not sure. Maybe I just wanted to know what they said when I wasn't around nowadays.

"Wow. That couldn't have been more awkward, Ember."

"Tell me about it. I feel really bad for the guy. You know what I thought when Strokes got his cutie mark? I actually thought 'Thank Celestia we don't have a Chaser'."

"Ouch, man. I know he's a blank flank, but really?"

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't think the same thing when Curly Cue got hers a year back."

"…"

"Exactly." I heard the receiving bay door slide open, and they started to pull in the new clouds. "I mean, if I was him, I'd have left town as soon as I got out of school, you know?"

"Why? It's not like it'd be any different elsewhere for him."

"Why not? I mean, here, he's 'The Blank Flank'. But outside town, he's just another pony. If I had something like that following me around, I wouldn't want to stick around. I mean, I used to make fun of the guy in school, but now? I just feel sorry for him."

"Yeah. I guess."

The rest of my day passed in a bit of a daze. It wasn't like I hadn't contemplated leaving before. I'd thought of running away lots of times as a colt. I'd just never really seen that it would make things any better. But Ember made a good point. My infamy was the problem around here, not my lack of talent. I mean, that was still a problem, but out in the wide world… Maybe it wouldn't be the problem it was here at home.

The thought nagged at me all day. In truth, I didn't have anything to lose by leaving, and if things weren't any different? I could just come back home. I wanted to know, though, if maybe it could be different. I hadn't felt like this in a long while. I felt… hopeful. I decided, against my better judgment, to try something I'd thought I had given up on a long time ago. I was going to find my talent, and get my cutie mark!

I was a bit surprised at how glad I was to tell my boss I was quitting, and I know he was relieved to be rid of me. It's not that I was a bad worker; I did a good job, and I'd worked hard to be good at it. But obviously, having a blank flank on staff is… well, I was never the social butterfly at work. Or anywhere, for that matter. Everyone would breathe easier not having to watch for me when they were talking.

After leaving my job, I went to go break the news to my folks. I wasn't really sure how they'd take it. I knew I'd made a fuss about leaving to find my mark during my last year of school, but that had been more for show. I hadn't had a plan, or any money, or any clue what to do or where to go. Come to think of it, things weren't much different now. I had a little money saved up (I didn't really have a lot to spend it on), but I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

I arrived at the house, and opened the door, hearing the familiar squeaking of the frame that has always needed oiling. My father, Crash Course, says he'll get around to it someday, but he's been saying that as long as I've been around. Longer, if you ask my mother.

"Mom? Dad?"

"In here, dear." My mother's voice floated out from the kitchen, serene clouds in a tossing sea of sound. Mom had always been my biggest supporter growing up, and to this day she still professed her faith that I had a special talent, and that it was waiting for me to discover it. I clung to that thought as I entered the kitchen, and bluntly delivered the news of my decision.

For a moment, after I finished speaking, there was a stillness in the kitchen. My mother almost dropped the cup she was washing in the sink. My father, on the other hand, betrayed no surprise except for a soft twinkling in his eye.

"You… you're leaving?"

"That's right, mom. I'm going out into the world to… to find my talent."

My father pulled back his chair from the table and crossed over to me. He laid a hoof on my shoulder solemnly. "Son, I've been waiting to hear you say that for a little while now."

"You have?" Dad had never made any indication that he wanted me to go. I was confused.

"Yes. I've known for a while your destiny was outside this village, but I knew you had to decide to search it out for yourself. I'm proud of you. It's a big step."

"I know, dad. Thanks."

And that was it from dad. He excused himself, and left the room to head upstairs. Mother immediately began fretting over everything in the cosmos. By Celestia, you'd think I was a colt heading off to my first sleepover to see her worry over me while I packed. She asked if I really needed to go so soon, couldn't I stick around a few more days, what was the rush. It was annoying at the time, but looking back, I have to laugh.

Dinner was a quiet affair, as always. Mother talked about the new family moving into the old Shamrock house, and about the news she'd picked up at work. Father asked me if I had a plan, and I told him I had a dream. That was enough for him, I guess, because he didn't ask me anything else about it.

In the morning, I said my goodbyes, promising to return once I had found my talent. Father was stoic, as always, and mother tried not to get misty-eyed. They said they'd miss me, and made me promise to write. I knew this would be better for all of us, and was anxious to get some distance between us. They loved me dearly, and I loved them just as much, but as you may have figured out by now, having a child like me doesn't exactly get other people to love and tolerate you. They had always, _always_come to my defense growing up, but I knew they'd be better off without me around to remind everyone that they'd raised a failure. I kissed my mom, and gave my dad a hug, and walked out the door, listening to the squeaking hinges one last time. They sounded sad to see me leave.

The train station was crowded with the mid-morning incoming from tourists. Snowfall isn't a big town by any means, but we have lots of snow most of the year (hence the name), and the fact that our village is literally built into a mountainside is kind of a nice draw, so we've always got ponies coming in to get away and enjoy the sights. Lots of scenic views and festive musicians… It's pretty good for the economy, but I've never paid much attention to the tourist trade.

Now, as I headed up to the ticket booth, I gazed around at all the new faces. No one noticed me as they disembarked, and I was okay with that. I walked up to the booth, and laid down 4 bits. "I'd like a ticket, please."

A russet hoof came down to take them. "Alright, where to… Chaser?" It was my old friend Sunset Vista. I wasn't near as surprised to see her as she was me. She and I had been pretty close in filly school, but as I got older, and my cutie mark never appeared, we got distant. I'm not sure which of us pulled away first. It was probably me. Anyway, she was one of the only people in town who still treated me as more than a second-class citizen. Now she worked here, at the station, helping people explore all the distant horizon had to offer.

"Hey, Sunny." We hadn't spoken in a while, and I felt a little awkward using her old nickname so casually. "Um, where's good this time of year?" I tried to feign looking at the location board, but I really didn't have anywhere in mind, and the names and times all blurred together.

"You're leaving? Whatever for?" She actually sounded surprised, as though she hadn't been witness to the mockery of my life all these years.

"Do you have to ask?" I couldn't help but glance back at where my cutie mark should have been. I sighed. "Truth is, I'm going to find myself." I tried to sound assertive and confident. I don't think it worked.

"Oh. Well…" She was starting to look a little flush. "Um, lemme think." She looked at some papers she had sitting on her desk. "Well, there's a lot going on in Phillydelphia lately…"

"Nah, I'm not looking for a fight. Anywhere a little… brighter?"

She checked her schedule sheet again. "Well, the Crystal Empire just reappeared not too long ago. That's about as bright as you can get."

"Maybe a little too bright. Anywhere that's, I don't know, a bit more normal?"

"Hmm… How about Ponyville?"

"Ponyville? What's in Ponyville?"

"You haven't heard? That's where everything has been happening lately. Princess Celestia-"

"Wait. Is this the same Ponyville that was witness to Nightmare Moon two years ago, and that Discard guy last spring?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

"I don't know. That's not really very normal at all."

"Maybe not, but if there's a place to find yourself…" She trailed off.

I wasn't too sure about a place like that, but I figured, with all that going on, they probably wouldn't even notice one bare-flanked pony amongst all the action. At the very least, I'd have a little more freedom than here. "Sure. Ok. Ponyville it is, then. You've convinced me."

Sunset Vista swept the bits off the counter, punched a few holes in a ticket, and handed it to me. "Here ya go!" She tried to smile, but faltered. "I-I really hope you find yourself soon. You will come back when you do, right?"

"Yeah, I will. Well, gotta go. See ya around, Sunny!" I didn't stick around to talk. I hoped she wasn't coming down with anything; that flush was awful bad. We might not have been very close in recent history, but I still liked to think of her as a friend. It was a nice thought; I didn't have many friends anymore.

I boarded the train, and found an empty seat near the back. As I sat down, I reached for the bag I had packed with the few things that mattered to me. Inside was a picture of my parents, an autographed Ken Griffon, Jr. rookie baseball card I'd gotten as a colt (probably worth a bit, but not as much as I'd ever hope), an old compass from my days in the colt scouts, and the gifts my folks had given me this morning before I left. I studied them now.

My father had given me his old all-weather cloak. Nowadays my father taught Creature Studies at the University, but this cloak was from his days as a monster-hunter, long before I was foaled. It was well-worn and comfortable. It wasn't his first cloak, but it was probably in the best condition out of all the cloaks he'd worn over his adventurous career.

I put it on with a slight feeling of reverence, as I always had. I'd heard stories of his days hunting hydra and timberwolves and dragons, back before he met my mother. I knew every inch of this cloak- I'd worn it many times as a kid, pretending to hunt monsters with my friends as a colt. That he'd given it to me now… maybe he actually believed in me. Maybe he thought I'd find the monster that was holding my cutie mark and chase it out of him. I smiled, and for once it didn't feel forced. I noted with maybe a little too much happiness that the cloak covered my flank, concealing its lack of marking.

The second gift is the one I'm writing in now. My mother, Soft Story, has been a journalist for a number of years. That was actually how my parents had met; she'd been doing a story on my father and his brigade, and had accompanied them while they hunted down a rabid manticore in the Nightmist Forest. He ended up saving her life, and she ended up saving his heart, if you hear her tell it. That's another story, though, and she tells it far better than I ever could. Anyway, she gave me this journal in the hope that, if nothing else, I'd come back with a story. Thanks, mom.

I'm Chaser, a pegasus from the village of Snowfall, and I have no cutie mark. This is my story.

**Day**** 2**

Oh gosh. What a morning. Did I ask to come to Crazyville? Or did I just get the lucky golden ticket on accident? Everything started off innocently enough. Of course, that should have been my first tip off.

The train ride took a whole day and night. I tried to watch the scenery for a while, but after leaving the stop at Trottingham, it devolved into an endless sea of grain fields, and I lost interest. I'm not really great at small talk, so trying to start up a conversation with the other riders was out. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I know it was well before dark. I awoke to the sound of the train whistle sounding off, probably to scare off some wandering animals as we ran past a thick, murky forest. All I could see out the window was the black outline of dense trees against the slowly lightening sky.

As we carried on, I watched through the window as dawn crept its way over the horizon. Snowfall is built into the south side of Mount Whitpeak, so I've seen lots of sunrises. Still, my eyes were unprepared for the sight that was about to greet me this morning. Being surrounded by snow all the time is beautiful, but the color palette leaves something to be desired. In the growing glow of the approaching sun, I could already tell that this landscape was not so lacking. I realized I was holding my breath. How long had I ...? I let out a long, slow exhale.

It was as though Celestia had been waiting for me to breathe. The first rays of sunlight streaked across the landscape like fresh paint on Broad Strokes' canvas. It proceeded to spread the most beautiful colors across the ground, hues of brown and green and gold as I had never witnessed before. I felt like a foal again, and I admit, I quite forgot myself and pressed my face against the window glass like an over-excited colt in my attempt to take it all in. It was breathtaking. Absolutely awe-inspiring.

Maybe I _would_ find my destiny here.

It was around this point in my thinking that I began to feel like I was being watched. Turning around slowly, I discovered every pony in the train car. Staring. At me. I mulled this over for a moment, and then, as if awakening from a dream, pulled away from the window and mumbled a half-hearted comment about it being a nice day. I don't think anyone was really listening. The stares continued for about ten seconds or so, and then someone coughed, and the spell was broken. Ponies looked about and discovered other, less peculiar things to focus on. The moment of lunacy had come and gone.

Sometimes I really dislike myself.

As we pulled into the station about an hour later, I was still berating myself for my childishness. I'd gone back to gazing shortly after the event, although this time I made sure to keep my distance from the glass. After the flower fields and an apple farm, we passed a beautiful lake, and then the town proper came into view. It was so colorful and cheery. I began to feel my sour disposition lighten.

The train finally ground to a stop, and I could hear steam issuing out of the engine as everypony in the train car began gathering their things. I, too, placed my meager belongings in my bag, although I decided to wait until everyone else had disembarked before I got up to leave.

I left the train, bag in mouth, and took a breath of the fresh valley air. It smelled, unsurprisingly, of fresh apples and wild flowers. And something else… cake?

"Hiya!"

"Aah!" There was a flash of pink, a thud, and then I found myself perched on top of the train car I had just left, looking down at the saccharine smile of the cheery pony that had startled me. My wings flapped nervously, twice. I felt my face growing warm as I realised how foolish I must look, screaming like a filly and jumping away from- "Huh?" - there was nopony on the platform. I'd just looked away for an instant...

"Wow, that was really neat!"

My head whipped to the right, and there she was, clear as a bell, on top of the train car with me. "Wha? Haw?"

She hopped- no, she bounced -about me as she spoke. "I mean, I've seen Rainbow Dash jump really fast, but that was _really_ fast! You were like a cannon! Or, no, a rocket! Woooosh! Hehe! That was great!"

"Uh, thank you?" Was this pony complimenting me on how easily I startle?

"You're so welcome!" She replied cheerily, and then she stopped (I swear by Luna's flowing starry mane) in mid-air, pondered something for a moment, exclaimed, "Oh, right! Welcome!" and fell back to the train car roof. " As Primary Party Planner and Purveyor of Pleasing Pastimes, I'm present to placate your passage through our principal precinct of perching ponies!" She finished the tongue twister with a sharp intake of breath. "So, let's try this again." She held out a hoof in greeting, the smile never leaving her face. "Hiya!"

"Chief planny porty whata huh?" My hoof was moving. Apparently it had decided not to consult me before shaking the hoof of a strange pony, but I was too busy trying to unravel the rapid cascade of words she'd just unloaded on me to really care one way or the other.

She giggled. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm here to welcome you to Ponyville!"

"... Oh! Well, Thanks... Pinkie Pie?"

"Yep, that's me! Wait-" She froze again. Her eyes shrank to slits, and her smile vanished. "-How did you know my name?"

"Because... you... told it to me?"

The gaze faded back into a comfortable grin. "Oh, ok!"

"W-wait a minute! How did you know I'd be coming to Ponyville? Do you know who I am?"

"Ooh, a guessing game. I love guessing games!" This pony had had about 3 times the lethal limit of sugar this morning, I guessed. She smelled like frosting and... something I couldn't quite identify. She peered at me from multiple angles, then began. "Green Eyes? Tussle? Comfy Cape? Are you Comfy Cape?"

"Uh, no. My name is-"

"Wait! Don't tell me, I have to guess. Hmm. Ooh, High Jumper. High Flyer! High Wire. High wire act. Or maybe the trapeze, oh, oh, at the circus! Circus... Circuses. Bread! Sourdough. Baking. Cupcakes! That's what we need! Cupcakes! I'll be back!" And without so much as a how-do-you-do, she was off, bouncing her way into town like a maniac, spouting more nonsense than an Iron Will seminar after too much hard cider.

I stood there for a very long while, wondering if I had perhaps not woken up yet, and was still asleep on the train. Then I heard a noise below, and looked to see the ticket master from the train, staring up at me. "Excuse me, but is this yours?" He pointed a hoof at the bag I'd left below when I jumped.

I blushed furiously as I hopped from the roof of the train. I grinned sheepishly up at the ticket master. "Sorry. Just... uh, trying to get a better view of town?" He merely sighed and shook his head, then trotted off, mumbling something I couldn't hear...

I leaned down and retrieved my bag, looked around at the now empty station, and began my lonely trek into town.

At least it couldn't get any stranger, I thought.


	2. Introductions on Trains

The train ride took a whole day and night. I tried to watch the scenery for a while, but after leaving the stop at Trottingham, it devolved into an endless sea of grain fields, and I lost interest. I'm no good at small talk, so trying to start up a conversation with the other riders was out, and I hadn't really brought anything to do. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I know it was well before dark. I awoke to the sound of the train whistle sounding off, probably to scare off some wandering animals as we ran past a thick, murky forest. All I could see out the window was the black outline of dense trees against the slowly lightening sky.

As we carried on, I watched through the window as dawn crept its way over the horizon. Snowfall is built into the south side of Mount Whitpeak, so I've seen lots of sunrises. Even so, I realized I was holding my breath in anticipation. I let out a long, slow exhale.

It was as though Celestia had been waiting for me to breathe. The first rays of sunlight streaked across the ground like fresh paint on Broad Strokes' canvas. Being surrounded by snow all the time is nice, but the color palette leaves something to be desired. This was almost too much. The light proceeded to spread the most beautiful colors into view, hues of brown and green and gold as I had never witnessed before. I felt like a foal again. I pressed my face against the window glass like an over-excited colt in my attempt to take it all in. It was absolutely breathtaking.

"Maybe I _will_ find my destiny here."

Well, that was what I meant to say. I was still half-asleep, and with my mouth firmly against the glass, it came out as, "Maymeeillrinemidelineher."

It was around this point that I began to feel a rather familiar sensation. Turning around slowly, I discovered the family of three seated across the aisle from me were all staring oddly. I mulled this over for a moment, and then I looked back at the glass and saw my reflection; I had drool crusted on my cheek, my cloak had twisted up and fallen askew, and my mane was a mess. I had been plastered to the window so hard I looked as though I might push it right out of its frame, and I was mumbling incoherently. I would have stared, too.

I tried to smile disarmingly. From the way the Mare pulled her fillies closer, I was fairly sure that I had failed to comfort them as to my mental status. I pulled away from the window and mumbled a half-hearted comment about it being a nice day, and tried very hard to make a hole through the floor with my eyes. The stares continued for several more seconds, and then someone coughed, and the spell was broken. The ponies looked about and discovered other, less peculiar things to focus on. The moment of lunacy had come and gone, leaving me to myself once again.

An hour later, I was still berating myself for my childishness. I vowed to pay more attention to myself in the future. I wasn't a social pony, but I was determined that any impression I made to anypony in this village would be a good one. I was tired of being an outcast. I was going to make friends and influence ponies if it killed me.

I'd gone back to window-watching shortly afterwards, although this time I made sure to keep my distance from the glass. We passed by sprawling fields of flowers in every shade of the rainbow, then a large apple farm, and then a beautiful lake. Finally, the town proper came into view. It was so colorful and cheery. It was bigger than I had expected. Snowfall is large, of course, but it's also more spread out, and it has a lot of hilly surfaces from being carved into the rock face over the years. This place looked simpler and friendlier than my hometown, and I began to feel butterflies in my stomach as I tried not to think about what lay ahead.

As we pulled in, I began to feel my sour disposition lighten. In its place there came a nervous excitement, as the reality of my spur-of-the-moment journey finally began to set in. I was all on my own, now. In ponyville, I knew exactly zero ponies, I hadn't made arrangements, and I'd never been here before. I was alone. The thought was both invigorating, and sad. Other ponies would be arriving with their friends and families, or have someone at the station waiting to see them.

So be it, I told myself. After all, a pony has to discover himself for himself. I didn't need a welcome party or entourage to help me do that.

The train finally ground to a stop, and I could hear steam issuing out of the engine as everypony around me began gathering their things. I, too, placed my meager belongings in my bag, although I decided to wait until everypony else had disembarked before I got up. No sense in making two scenes on the same train, after all.

I left the train, bag in mouth, and stepped into the village. I took a breath of the clean valley air. It was wonderful, and I smiled as I caught the scent of fresh apples and wild flowers. And something else. Cake, maybe? I went to take my first steps into town -

"Hiya!"

"Aah!" There was a flash of pink, a thud, and I found myself perched on top of the train car I had just left, looking down at the saccharine smile of the cheery pony that had startled me. My heart was suddenly heavy in my chest, and my wings were flapping nervously, as though trying to warn me I had not gotten high enough. I felt my face growing warm as I realized what had just happened. How foolish I must look, screaming like a filly and jumping away from- "Huh?" - There was nopony on the platform. The pink pony had vanished. I'd only looked away for an instant...

"Wow, that was really neat!"

My head whipped to the right, and there she was, clear as a bell, on top of the train with me. "Wha? Haw?"

She hopped- no, she bounced -about me as she spoke. "I mean, I've seen Rainbow Dash jump pretty fast, but that was _really_ fast! You were like a cannon! Or, no, a rocket! Woooosh!"

"Uh, thank you?" Rainbow who? Who was this crazy pony? And was she complimenting me on how easily I startle?

"You're welcome!" She replied cheerily, and then she stopped (I swear by Luna's flowing starry mane) in mid-air, pondering something. I was starting to wonder if time had stopped, when she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, right! Welcome!" and fell back to the roof of the train as though nothing had happened. Grinning up at me, she bowed, and began to speak. "As Primary Party Planner and Purveyor of Pleasing Pastimes, I'm present to placate your passage through our principal precinct of perching ponies!" She finished the tongue twister with a large intake of breath. "So," She held out a hoof in greeting, the smile never leaving her face, "hiya!"

"Chief planny porty whata huh?" My hoof was moving. I didn't remember deciding to shake her hoof, but I was too busy trying to unravel the rapid cascade of words she'd just unloaded on me to really care one way or the other.

She giggled. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm here to welcome you to Ponyville!"

"... Oh! Well, Thanks... Pinkie Pie?"

"Yep, that's me! Wait-" She froze again. Her eyes shrank to slits, and her smile vanished. "-How did you know my name?"

"Because... you... just told it to me?"

The gaze faded back into a comfortable grin. "Oh, ok!"

"W-wait a minute! How did you know I'd be here? You know who I am?"

"Ooh, a guessing game. I love guessing games!" This pony had had about 3 times the lethal limit of sugar this morning, I guessed. She smelled like frosting and... something I couldn't quite identify. She peered at me from multiple angles. "Green Eyes? Tussle? Sapphire Cape? Are you Sapphire Cape?"

"Uh, no. My name is-"

"Wait! Don't tell me, I have to guess. Hmm. Ooh, High Jumper. High Flyer! High Wire. High wire act. Or maybe the trapeze, oh, oh, at the circus! Circus... Circuses. Bread! Sourdough. Baking. Cupcakes! That's what we need! Cupcakes!"

"… What just happened?"

"Oh, no! I need to get started now, or the cupcakes won't be ready in time. Wait here, okay?" And without so much as a how-do-you-do, she was off, bouncing her way towards town like a maniac.

"W-wait!"

She put down her hooves, and I swear I heard screeching. "Did I forget something?"

"Yes! I mean, No! What's going on? Who are you, and why do you need cupcakes?"

"Silly, I told you, I'm Pinkie Pie! And I need cupcakes for your party!"

This had to be a dream. "What… Party?"

"Your welcome party, of course! I gotta go tell everyone. See you soon!" And with that, she was gone.

I stood there for a very long while, stunned. What in Equestria had just happened? Was any of that real? Did she maybe think I was somepony else?

I heard a noise below, and glanced down to see the ticket master staring up at me. "Excuse me, sir, but is this yours?" He pointed a hoof at the bag I'd left below when I jumped.

"Oh, uh, yes." I blushed furiously as I hopped from the roof of the train. "Sorry. Just... uh, trying to get a better view of town?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Next time, please use something other than the train."

"Of course. Sorry." I leaned down and retrieved my bag. The ticket master was trotting away, mumbling something I couldn't hear. He and I were the only ones left on the platform. No one had seen the exchange I had just had with Pinkie Pie. Talk about an introduction.

Maybe being an outcast wasn't as bad as it seemed.

I sighed, chuckled, and shook my head. As I began the lonely trek into town, I said to myself, "At least it can't get any stranger."


	3. Of Corners, Cubes, and Sugar

Still a bit dazed from Pinkie Pie's... whatever that was, I wandered my way into town.

By this time of the morning, Ponyville was wide awake, and the streets were comfortably filled by cheery ponies of all sorts. I saw a few pegasi preparing some puffy afternoon clouds near what could only have been the town hall, and heard snippets of several conversations from vendors chatting with their early morning regulars as I passed by.

As I had hoped, no one seemed to notice me, and I found my way to nowhere in particular, idly observing the motions of the citizens of Ponyville. Finding a conveniently located bench near the market square, I took a seat, and allowed myself to take in the city for a moment. This, for better or worse, was where I would try to find that which had eluded me for so many years... My special talent.

Mind you, I had absolutely no idea how to go about doing so. I didn't know anything about this town, or anyone in it (except that crazy earth pony, and I still wasn't sure how to feel about that). I also didn't know where I was supposed to start _finding_ my cutie mark. If I knew that, I would probably have gotten it a long time ago.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rumbling noise. I hadn't had anything to eat since the lunch cart on the train yesterday. I would need to get something to eat soon. I looked at the vendors on the street around the square, but nothing peaked my interest. I decided to ask a local.

I stood up and trotted over to the nearest unoccupied pony, an earth pony with a blue and pink mane. "Um, excuse me?"

She turned to me. "Hmm? Oh, hello." She seemed distracted.

"Hi. Um, could you help me? I'm from out of town, and I'm looking for a good place to get something to eat. Would you know anyplace around…?"

"Oh, yeah." She lifted a hoof and pointed behind me, down one of the main roads. "Head down that way a few blocks. Sugarcube Corner. It's hard to miss."

"Is that why they call it that?"

"Huh?" She gave me a dumbstruck look.

"Sugarcube Corner. Because… it's on the corner?" I really needed to work on my conversational skills. Thankfully, this pony didn't seem to notice my fumbling, due to her distracted state.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She was looking around for something, or maybe someone.

"Is everything alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm just waiting for my friend is all. She's usually here by now."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'll leave you to find your friend." Relieved that the awkwardness of the conversation wasn't entirely my fault, I took my leave.

"Yeah. Thanks. Have a nice day," I heard her call absently behind me as I headed down the street she had indicated.

I hadn't gone very far before my nose told me I was going in the right direction. The smell of fresh bread and cake batter wafted its way down the road, growing stronger with each step. My stomach gurgled in anticipation. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until now. I quickened my pace.

Finally, I came around a bend, and there it was. I knew it was the right place, even though it sat in the middle of an intersection, far from a corner. I knew it before I saw the sign hanging from the front door. The whole building looked like it had been baked instead of built, a gingerbread-and-birthday-cake treat on a life-sized scale. It sat in the middle of the street, beckoning patrons inside its delicious structure with tempting smells and fresh goods visible through its frosted windows.

I stood for a moment and tried to take in the sight of it, but decided I could examine it _after_ I met the need that had brought me here in the first place. I headed inside to eat.

I was immediately regretful. I should have known the fate that would await me inside, but I was too hungry to think about what a structure like this might contain. Or, more accurately, who.

Waving to me, from a table at the far end of the room, sat Pinkie Pie. "Yoo hoo! Over here!" She wasn't alone; two other ponies were also occupying the table. The first, a unicorn with a purple mane, turned her gaze towards me as Pinkie began waving. Our eyes met, and I watched her blink several times, and then she smiled at me strangely. The other pony met my gaze for only a fraction of a second before hiding her eyes beneath her long pink mane.

I was very hungry, and like it or no, Pinkie Pie was currently the only Pony in town I knew by name. I weaved around a few tables, and sat down in the remaining seat, next to Pinkie. "Uh, hi there, Pinkie Pie."

"Hiya!" She turned to her companions and pointed at me. "Rarity, Fluttershy, this is the pegasus I was just telling you about! Chaser, these are my great friends, Rarity and Fluttershy!"

Rarity looked a bit dazed as she offered a hoof in greeting. "Charmed," she breathed, "Absolutely charmed, Darling."

I shook her hoof gently. "Um, likewise." Rarity giggled girlishly when I spoke.

"H-hello..." The yellow pegasus spoke so softly, I had to lean in to hear her.

"Hi." I let go of Rarity's hoof and offered mine to Fluttershy. She quakingly reached out and shook it, "N-nice to meet you," and then returned quickly to her drink. She certainly seemed to live up to her name.

I turned to Pinkie Pie. "Uh, Pinkie, you seem, er, the sort of pony that probably frequents this place-"

"Oh, I do more than that! I live here!"

That explained a lot. "Uh-huh. Well, I was wondering how I'd get something to eat? I'm really hungry. Do I go to the counter, or is there-"

She leapt like a pony with a fire under her. "Don't you worry about a thing! Be right back!" And she dashed off to the counter, leaving me alone with her friends.

I wasn't quite sure what to do. Rarity was sitting next to me, staring at me and fussing with her hair absently, and Fluttershy was glancing between her lemonade and me, trying not to meet my gaze.

"Fluttershy?"

"Y-yes?" She looked up, and her right eye disappeared beneath her mane.

"Um, is everything ok?"

"..." She shrank a little in her seat.

"Oh, don't mind Fluttershy, dear," Rarity interjected, propping herself up on her hooves and leaning in towards me. "She takes a while to warm up to handsome new friends." She laughed airily, and began blinking rapidly. She must have been allergic to something in the air.

I turned to Fluttershy and offered a weak smile. "That's okay. I'm not exactly the most social pony myself. Don't feel bad about it." I tried to think of more to say, but my mind was as blank as my stomach. Or my flank...

Pinkie Pie returned at that moment, preventing me from having to say anything more. She was wielding a tray full of still-warm muffins, and a bowl of hot oats with cinnamon and apples. For the first time that day, I was thankful for her appearance. "Here ya go! It's on the house!" She set the tray in front of me. "Well, actually, it's on the table. If it was on the house, it'd be a lot harder for you to eat any of it. Well, maybe not a lot harder; I mean, you're a pegasus so you could just fly up on top of the house to eat, but that would be really silly, don't you think? It would probably-"

I wasn't paying much attention to her ramblings. The food was very good. The muffins had some kind of fruit in them, but I had eaten one of them so fast I hadn't had time to figure out what kind. I bit into a second muffin, and discovered that they were blueberries.

"- but then you'd have to keep building new houses every time you ate the old one!"

"Yes, Pinkie, that's fascinating, but shouldn't we be learning about our new... friend?" The way Rarity kept looking at me was making me feel a little warm under my cloak for some reason. "So, Chaser, dear... What brings you to our humble village?"

I swallowed. I didn't want to lie (I was a terrible liar), but did I have to give away my secret already? I took a swig of water from the glass on the tray. "Uh, well... that's sort of a long story."

"Well, I don't have anywhere to be," Rarity purred at me.

"But, Rarity," said Fluttershy suddenly, "I thought you had a big order you had to-"

"Plenty of time for that, Fluttershy, dearie," Rarity cut her off, "I'm more interested in hearing about why Chaser's here." Fluttershy withered a bit. "Oh, Fluttershy, I'm sorry. Please don't be like that. Don't you want to know about our new friend?"

"Um, well, I mean, I suppose..."

"Rarity," I started to say.

Her head snapped towards me when I called her name, and she resumed her large-eyed staring. "Yes?"

"... Er, it's really okay. I'll be here for a while, if you have things to do."

"You will?" Pinkie asked, "That's great!" She jumped atop the next table over, which was thankfully unoccupied, and started singing. "Oh, Chaser's staying in town. Yes, Chaser's staying around. Oh, Chaser's come to our town... And we're gonna have lots of fun! YEAH!" She punctuated the end of her song with a flourish and some confetti, the origin of which I couldn't quite discern.

No one in the shop seemed to take much notice. This must have been a regular occurrence.

"Um," Fluttershy looked up from her lemonade as Pinkie sat back down, "Mister Chaser?"

I smiled, and felt my cheeks growing red. "Please. It's just Chaser, Fluttershy. What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering... I've never seen a cloak like that before."

I looked at my father's old cape. "Oh, this thing?"

Rarity reached over tentatively, "May I? I was about to bring up the same point. It's-" she ran a hoof over the surface of the cloak, "- very beautiful. A cloak with history, from the look of it." She looked up at me, waiting for me to explain.

I ran a hoof through my mane embarrassingly. "It is. It's a hunter's cloak, actually."

Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked over at Fluttershy, who suddenly looked as though she might be ill. "Um, I-I... Excuse me!" She pushed back her chair, and galloped out the door.

"Fluttershy, wait! ..." Rarity called after her, to no effect. "Oh, dear," she murmured after Fluttershy had run out the door.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh," Rarity sighed, "Chaser, you couldn't have known." Rarity put a hoof on mine, trying to be comforting. "It's just that, well, Fluttershy is very sensitive about animals."

"Oh... Oh, no! I'm not, I mean, this isn't..." Oh, boy. An hour in town, and already I was making a mess of things. "This is a big misunderstanding. I'm not a hunter."

"Oh? Then why do you have a hunter's cloak on?"

"It's an all-weather cloak my father used when he was a hunter, back before I was born. He gave it to me when I left home."

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, my. This _is_ a misunderstanding."

Pinkie Pie was looking out the door after Fluttershy. It was the first time since I'd met her that I'd seen her without a smile.

"This is all a terrible mix-up." I stood up, and pushed in my chair. "Thanks for breakfast, Pinkie. I need to go apologize to somepony."

She looked up at me. "Who?"

Rarity and I looked at her incredulously. "Fluttershy," we said in unison.

"Oh, right!"

I started to leave, then realized I had a small problem. Turning back, I asked, "Do... either of you know where I might find her?"

Pinkie raised a hoof. "Oh, oh, me, I know! Pick me!"

Rarity answered, "She'll probably have gone back to her cottage. It's on the edge of town, out by the Everfree Forest." She pushed in her seat, and used Pinkie's raised hoof to pull her up as well. "We'll all go."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I insist!" she said as she started for the door. "I feel partly responsible for this. I inquired about the cloak as well. Besides," she turned back to me, fluttering her eyes, "You don't know your way around town. It would be _awful_ of us to just throw you out into Ponyville without any clue where you were going."

I hesitated, but had to concede. She was right, after all; I didn't know hardly anything about Ponyville, and I could use all the help I could get right now. "Alright, Rarity. Lead the way."

"Oh, boy! Follow the Leader! I love this game!" Pinkie Pie bounced behind us as we left Sugarcube Corner. "Not as much as Pin the tail on the Pony, or Celestia Says, of course. But who doesn't love a good game of Celestia says? Am I right?"

"Uh-huh." As we crossed the threshold of the door and stepped outside, I froze. A thought had just hit me square in the face, and I whirled around to Pinkie Pie. "Wait a second!"

Pinked stopped and looked around. "What is it?"

"Pinkie Pie... I never told you my name. How did you know my name?"

Pinkie grinned and giggled. "I checked the story title!" She hopped cheerily past me, following Rarity. "C'mon! We have to follow Rarity! She's the leader, remember?"

I tried to decipher her meaning. Story... title? What?

Ah, to hay with it. I had to find Fluttershy and apologize. I made a mental note to ask Pinkie again later, after I had cleared all this up.


	4. Misunderstanding

She wasn't home. We knocked on all the doors, looked in all the windows, and Pinkie Pie even tried yelling down the chimney. No answer, no Fluttershy.

"Hmm," Rarity looked at the empty cottage, then around at the yard surrounding it. Besides the chicken coop, from which muted clucking could be heard, there were critters relaxing in the bright morning sun. Squirrels, bunnies, birds and mice scampered about the large grassy yard, oblivious to us as we sat outside the cottage door. "I don't think she'd have gone very far. She has too many animals to take care of right now. Perhaps she's over in the flower fields, probably under the willow," -she pointed out to the east- "She sometimes goes there to relax."

"What about those woods over there?" I pointed towards the dense line of trees to the south. "I mean, she loves animals... there's got to be plenty in there, right? Maybe she went to do some, uh, caretaking there?"

"No, I don't think so, Chaser," Rarity said as she looked towards the treeline. "That's the Everfree forest."

"Ok..." I waited for an explanation. Several seconds of silence passed as they looked at me. I finally had to ask, "Um, what does that mean?"

Pinkie's eyes went wide. "You mean you don't know?" she asked in a startled tone.

"Oh, that's right," Rarity said, "You're from out of town. Of course you wouldn't know."

"Know what?" I'd never been a fan of beating around bushes. "What's so special about the Everfree forest?"

Pinkie Pie leapt in front of me, a wild look in her eyes. "It's unnatural! Spooky, even! The plants and animals and weather all operate without any pony to help!"

That didn't sound so bad. "Uh-huh. But is it actually dangerous?"

She nodded so vigorously I swore I could hear rattling inside, then explained, "The Everfree Forest is one of the most dangerous places a pony can go! It's full of timberwolves and parasprites and manticores and ursas and dragons and all sorts of stuff!"

Okay, that did sound bad.

I leaned against the cottage fence, trying to think. "Alright, so she's probably _not_in the forest. But that leaves a lot of places she could be, right?"

"I suppose it does." Rarity looked deep in thought.

I tried to fight off the wave of depression that had been creeping in for the last few minutes. I couldn't let this happen. I was already an outcast in my hometown. I was not going to be a villain in this one. Stupid cloak. I had to think of something. My wings were starting to ruffle from the stress...

"Chaser," Rarity leaned in, "Do you suppose she might have taken to flying somewhere? She is a pegasus, after all."

Flying! Of course! I slapped my forehead with my hoof, startling her. "I am an idiot!"

"I thought you were a pegasus," grinned Pinkie.

"No! I mean, yes, I AM a pegasus," I exclaimed, "I have wings! I can get up higher and scan for her!" I unfolded my wings and flapped a few times to stretch them out, feeling a twitch of excitement rippling through me.

"But what if she's inside somewhere?" Rarity asked.

"I... Oh," my wings wilted a little. "I hadn't thought of that." The depression came back immediately. I slumped against the fence.

"Oh, Chaser," I felt Rarity's mane brush up against my foreleg as she came up to my side. "I didn't mean for... Oh, don't give up. She probably is outside, after all. And if she isn't, we'll just keep searching."

I looked up into her eyes. Rarity was right. I had to at least try. Even though it had been an accident, I was the one who had made this happen. I was going to fix it, no matter what it took.

I stood up, looked at the two of them, and nodded. "Ok. We won't know if I don't try, right?" They nodded reassuringly. I took a few steps forward to make sure I had room for take off. "I'll be right back."

I closed my eyes, and spread my wings, feeling the tiny currents of wind passing through my feathers as they stretched wide. I took a deep breath, and opened my gaze to the sky. I beat down once, twice, and felt the ground vanish under my hooves as I lifted off.

It only took a few moments to get up to the right altitude. I spun in a slow circle, taking in the view. I was overcome, for the second time that day, by the colors and shapes, the beautiful landscape of the valley spread out beneath me, and the picturesque view of the town below. I could even see Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, off in the distance. I hovered for several seconds admiring the view, before reminding myself that this wasn't a pleasure flight.

I began scanning slowly, starting with the cottage below and flying in a sweeping arc, looking for the combination of pink-on-yellow amongst the ponies below. After several minutes, I had found no trace of her in town, around the nearby lake, or in the flower fields Rarity had mentioned. I looped around and flew back to the cottage.

I touched down again, landing between Pinkie and Rarity. "Well, what'd you see? Did you find her?" Pinkie was bouncing like a rubber ball on springs.

I exhaled loudly. "No. I didn't." Pinkie stopped bouncing. I turned to Rarity, trying not to sound as defeated as I felt. "Looks like you're right. I think she's inside somewhere."

"Well, that raises another question, then. Where would she have gone?" Rarity lifted a hoof to her cheek as she thought.

"If I was her, I'd go to Sugarcube Corner and eat cupcakes until I felt better!"

Rarity looked annoyed as she replied, "Pinkie Pie, she ran out of Sugarcube Corner."

"Oh, yeah! I guess that wouldn't make much sense, then, huh? Unless maybe she forgot something, and so she went back in, and when she got back in she smelled the delicious-" She stopped, noting the sour expression on Rarity's face, and even her hair seemed to lose a little of its bounciness as she cowed. "Or not."

We all stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, as Rarity and I thought, and Pinkie... did whatever it was Pinkie does inside her head.

"Well," I finally offered, "She has to come home some time, right?"

"Yes, she must." Rarity answered with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Unless she can't come home, because on her way here after she ran out of Sugarcube Corner, she hit her head on a tree, and now she's in the hospital with amnesia and she can't remember who she is or where she lives or who any of her friends are! Then she wouldn't even know which ponies to talk to to find out who she was!" Pinkie Pie sputtered.

I really should have expected a response like that by now. "Uh... Yeah. Well... Pinkie Pie... why don't you go check the hospital and see if she's there?"

"Good Idea!" She turned and started running off, yelling, "I'm coming, Fluttershy! You may not remember me, but I'll never forget you!" she stopped, "unlessIhit a tree on my way to the hospital, and get amnesia, too, so we end up in beds right next to each other and don't know each other." She looked horrified for a few seconds, then smiled even brighter. "Then we could become friends all over again! WHEEE!" She took off again, half running, half bouncing, and disappeared over a hill in a few moments, leaving the two of us to watch her go.

"That is one very random pony," was all I could think to say after she'd left. I turned to Rarity. "So, I guess we'll wait here? Hope she comes home soon?"

"Yes. I suppose that's the easiest thing."

"So... Um..." Oh, gosh, did I have to be so painfully awkward?

"Chaser?" Rarity looked as though something had just occurred to her.

"Yes?"

"I know this might not be the ideal time to bring it up, but I can't help but notice how well that cloak wears on you." She circled around me, examining the cloak with a precise eye. "It really is a beautiful fabric. Dyed wool, probably from Germaneigh- that's where weather-resistant fabrics were most commonly produced until a few decades ago, if memory serves. May I?" She pointed to the cloak.

"Uh, sure." I had no idea where she was going with this.

She came up to me and ran a hoof across the cloak's surface, smiling. "A finer weave than most weather cloaks, but still a little scratchy, and the feeling of it..." She squinted at the fabric. "It isn't a wool interior. I'm guessing hemp? That would help keep the heat down a little, and it's sturdier than silk or linen. Not the best choice for making a statement, but in your case," she winked at me, "I'd say an exception has been made."

"Thanks?" That had been a compliment, right?

"Oh, you're very welcome."

"How did you know all that? I've played with this cloak for years, and I didn't know any of that."

"Oh, didn't I mention?" Rarity spun around gracefully, letting her mane bounce lightly as she dropped the cloak. "I'm a clothier by trade."

"A clothier? I'm afraid I don't-"

She laughed, light and airy. "A tailor, darling, a seamstress. I make clothes by trade."

"Oh, right." Clothier. Cloth. How could I not have figured that one out? "Uh, what kind of clothes?"

"Oh, all kinds. Dresses, hats, scarves... but you know, I'd love to have a model like you to try my hand at making a proper suit."

I started blushing at the thought. "A m-model like me?" I was apparently developing a stutter.

"Yes! A strong, handsome stallion like yourself would be perfect for modeling my latest ideas for men's fashion!"

A handsome stallion? Me? Was she seeing the same pony? "Oh, I-I don't think-"

"You wouldn't happen to be free tomorrow, would you?" She fluttered her eyelashes at me. I spluttered, trying to find an answer.

Before I could, our conversation was interrupted by a distant scream coming from the woods. Both of us looked out towards the trees, then back at each other. "FLUTTERSHY!" We started for the woods.

"We've got to help her!" Rarity yelled at me as we raced towards the entrance to the forest.

"That scream sounded pretty far away."

"I don't understand what she'd be doing in there!"

"Probably trying to warn the animals about me." And now she was in danger. I made a note to be furious at myself for all this once she was safely out. "I'll head in over the trees, and see if I can't find her."

"Then what do I do?"

I had to think fast. "Go back to town. Get help. We don't know what's going on, yet. I'll do my best to get her somewhere safe until you get back."

"But you'll be all on your own in there!"

"No I won't. I'll be in there with Fluttershy." I really hoped that sounded as confidant as it was supposed to.

We were coming up to the fork in the road, the path that split between town, and the bridge into the forest. "You don't have time to waste!" A second scream punctuated my point. "Go, Rarity!"

I saw the fear in her eyes for a brief moment, and then it vanished, replaced by steely determination. "Don't you dare let anything happen to her!" She turned and headed towards town, her hooves pounding across the path faster than I had expected from a dainty unicorn like her. I was impressed. But this was no time to admire a pony; Fluttershy was in danger.

The cobbled stones of the bridge barely felt my passing, registering only a single clip of hoof on stone as I practically flew across it. I was at the woods a moment later, the wind howling past my ears as I ran. Right as I hit the entrance, I unfurled my wings again, and used the speed of my gallop to launch me up above the trees in a sweeping arc.

The forest had looked dense from the cottage, and it was no less so from above. If anything, my view as I flew atop the trees only served to verify the wild nature of the woods. Plants growing on their own might not have scared me, but it made it very frustrating to look for a pony through the haphazard overgrowth. I flew frantically, looking for even a flash of pink or yellow through the tightly-packed trees. Ten seconds passed, then twenty, every one a second she could be injured, or worse. I had to find her!

I was getting ready to double back when I saw her. I was flying over a tiny clear patch in the trees, when I saw her running below me. Thank Celestia! I zoomed down to the hole in the tightly knit canopy, shoving aside branches to make the hole wide enough to push myself through. I'm not an especially large pony, but it was still a tight fit. I'd gotten about halfway through when I caught a glimpse of the creatures pursuing Fluttershy, and felt my stomach turn into a rock inside me.

Timberwolves. Five of them. And they were gaining on her.

I finished squeezing through the hole, leaping down from branch to branch until I hit the forest floor, rolling as I contacted the soft mossy undergrowth. The dense canopy made it feel dim and claustrophobic, and I'd been spun around on the way down, so it took me a moment to get my bearings. Turning towards the creatures, I rocketed off as fast as my hooves and wings would carry me.

Fluttershy was running out of steam, and the timberwolves would be on her in moments if I didn't do something fast. As I ran, I tried to remember everything my father had taught me about timberwolves, from his experiences long ago. I knew they were true magical creatures - animated life essence, not actually animals. This made them very hard to kill; fortunately, killing them wasn't necessary. My eyes scanned the forest floor as I ran, until I spotted what I was after - a small rock. I grabbed it without slowing down, using my wings to pick up the slack from my now occupied forelimb. I was only going to get one shot at surprise. I aimed as best I could while in motion, and launched the rock at the nearest one, trying to hit the small block of wood that connected the timberwolves' head to its neck. This was its weak point, and I knew a direct hit would send the creature collapsing into a heap of sticks and debris, powerless until its essence recollected to put the pieces together again.

The rock missed, and I cursed silently as it hit the creature in the shoulder, instead. It slid to a stop, making a yowling noise as it turned to see what had hit it. It saw me, and snarled, then spun around and ran for me. I overestimated the distance between us, and before I realised it, it was on top of me. It slammed me into the ground with its paws, knocking the wind out of me and sending stars across my vision. It roared, and I felt its rancid breath roll over me. I was actually glad to be unable to breathe. Wheezing heavily, I tried to roll, and managed to get enough leverage to shove the creature away with my back legs. It jumped back, landing neatly and circling me. I stood, and spun to face it, making sure not to let it get behind me. It leapt again, but this time I was ready.

I connected solidly, flying up under its chin before it could react, slamming into the neck piece at full speed. It felt like trying to body slam a tree, and I couldn't keep from grunting in pain, but I was far better off than the bits of timberwolf that now littered the ground around me. Shaking off my disorientation, I took off again. They were on her heels, and I had lost too much time already.

I wanted to yell for Fluttershy, but I knew getting her attention would slow her down, and I couldn't afford that. Unless it slowed down the timberwolves, too. It was a longshot, but it was the only shot I really had. "Hey! Uglies!" I shouted towards the wolves, hoping they'd look back to see what would dare try chasing them.

It worked. All four of the wolves turned to look at me, and tried to stop and turn, which caused one of the creatures to slam itself into a large tree, exploding in a shower of nature and bad breath. Fluttershy turned as well, and I locked eyes with her. I tried to look reassuring. I watched a host of conflicting emotions pass across her face. She had a rescuer, but of all the ponies in town, it had to be me. Boy, would things be better once I could explain everything to her.

The remaining timberwolves were having trouble deciding which target looked better now, so I tried to help them decide by running for the nearest one, yelling as loud as I could, wings spread wide to produce a bigger target.

Two of the timberwolves went for me, running and snarling in response to my screams. The third, however, turned back to Fluttershy, and made to closed the gap between them before she had time to react. "NO!" I screamed, and leapt into the air, flapping as hard as I could, barely clearing the approaching timberwolves before they had time to stop. They went under me and kept going, and I hit the ground rolling, spinning end over end a few times before I could match my hooves with the ground again. I had to get to her before the wolves got turned back around.

I ran at the wolf in front of Fluttershy, but I knew I wasn't going to make it. "FLUTTERSHY!" I screamed. There was just no time...

The timberwolf raised a wooden paw, and brought it down in a slashing motion across her side, and she cried out in pain. I saw the crimson sheen of blood, and she went careening across the ground from the force of the blow, tumbling like a leaf in a strong wind as she went. She finally stopped when she ran into a large rock, sprawled halfway over it, her bloody wing bent at an odd angle. "NO!" The scream ripped its way out of my throat, and I veered towards her, rushing to beat the wolf to her.

I got to her first, but the wolf wasn't far behind. In the distance, the other two were hard to see, but I could tell that they'd circled around and were coming this way. I didn't care. Right now, all that mattered was protecting the pony behind me. It was my fault she'd run into these woods. I was no hero, but I'd be a dead stallion before I let these things do anymore damage to her. I planted myself in front of her, starring the timberwolf in the eyes as it came nearer. It leapt off an outcropping of stones, intending on crushing us when it landed.

It never got the chance. As it came down on top of us, I turned and kicked for all I was worth, and I felt my hooves connect with its jaw. I yelled, partially from the pain, as the wolf's head popped right off its body, and the creature fell to dust and twigs around us, pelting me with junk.

I could finally see the other two wolves. They had stopped when they saw me 'kill' what was probably the alpha wolf, and finally seemed to be considering their situation. Not that I actually had any way of killing them for good, but as long as they didn't think of that, I had the upper hand. My breath heaved out of me in ragged sobs, and my entire body was on fire, but I stood my ground. "Well?" I coughed, "WELL?"

They decided not to test fate, and turned tail, disappearing rapidly into the overgrowth of the forest. We were alone, for now. Thankfully, it'd be several hours before the pieces of timber around us reassembled into working wolves again, so we had time to get out of the woods.

I turned to Fluttershy, gasping, and practically fell over right then and there from the exhaustion. I tried to smirk. "I... It... It's gonna be okay, now... I know you-" I stopped mid-sentence, as the realization began to sink in. "Fluttershy?" I started walking closer. "Fluttershy?"

Oh, no. No, no, no.

She wasn't moving.


	5. Conversations and Revelations

Fluttershy wasn't moving.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. If I'd gotten her killed... My mind began reeling with thoughts I couldn't hope to control. Funerals, banishment, imprisonment, exile. I was out of breath and covered in cuts and scrapes, but I didn't notice. All I could feel was a cold emptiness inside. I stumbled the few feet over to her, praying to the Matriarch that I was wrong.

I leaned in as close as I could, and placed a hoof on her chest. At first, I felt nothing, but then my hoof started to rise and fall, slowly. She was breathing. "Praise Celestia!" I cried. She was breathing! I barked a breathless laugh, wiped the dirt and tearstains from my eyes, and proceeded to look her over, to judge the extent of her injuries.

Her left wing was obviously wounded, lying bent at an odd angle. It was more likely badly dislocated than broken, judging by its positioning... at least, I hoped. She was bleeding from wounds on her wing and withers, not fatally, but she'd need bandaging. She was covered in dirt and debris, scratched up from rolling onto the stone, and there were plenty of bruises already developing across her body. She was a mess, but she'd live.

I wasn't in mint condition myself, but I noted with surprise that my cloak seemed almost untouched. Dad had told me that these hunter's cloaks were weather and stain-resistant, and that he'd had every one of them enchanted for improved durability. He loved to tell me about the time his favorite cloak had taken a direct hit by dragon fire, and had never so much as singed. It was exciting knowing I had been given the same protection.

I needed to focus. Having a cloak take a hit from timberwolves without tearing was nice, but Fluttershy hadn't been so lucky, and I needed to see to her quickly. That wing needed to be stabilized, to ensure it didn't heal wrong. I needed something to make a brace.

The forest provided everything I needed. I snapped a branch off one of the nearest trees, and grabbed some vines that had fallen during the timberwolves' attack. I set the wing back into place, tying it to the branch with the vines. My old colt scout training came back to me fairly quickly; I'd worked hard to prove I was worth more than a blank flank, and I thanked my stars that first aid had been one of the things I had worked hardest at. I finished tying it together, and examined my work. It wasn't pretty, but her wing would heal all right, as long as she didn't try using it for a few days.

I looked over her other injuries, trying to remember the things I'd learned as a scout. She was unconscious, but she didn't seem to be hurt in any vital areas, and she didn't appear to have any significant head trauma. She was probably safe to move. I tried to maneuver her onto my back, but quickly realized that, by myself, it would be near impossible to position her properly without hurting her wing further. I would have to find another way. If I had something to lay her on, I could drag her, maybe. I looked around for a moment, and then it hit me.

My cloak would work perfectly. I quickly removed it, and a few more sticks and vines later, I had a crude stretcher. Making sure I got it as close to Fluttershy as I could, I rolled her carefully onto the cloak, holding my breath to listen for groans or cries from her as she moved. She was quiet, and in moments I had her situated in the center of the cloak. I looped a length of vine around my neck like a harness, and started to drag. The frame creaked slightly, but it held together. Praise Luna for the little things.

I couldn't tell how long I'd been walking. The trees overhead were too dense to tell where the sun lay in the sky. I guessed it had been close to two hours, which made it around noon. I had made good time at the start, but once the adrenaline had run out of my system, I had been forced to slow down. The crazy rush I had put myself through searching for Fluttershy, and the injuries I had sustained fighting the timberwolves, had reduced my limbs to stiff, aching weights. I wanted to stop, but I had to get more distance between us and the wolves.

Fluttershy lay sleeping the whole time. I glanced back every so often to make sure she was alright. She seemed to be resting peacefully, although I doubted she'd be so relaxed when she came to. I hadn't had anything clean enough to use for bandaging, and her wounds had bled for a little while before finally sealing; the matted dark patches looked terrible against the pastel of her coat . She hadn't lost a lot of blood, but she'd probably be a bit unsteady on her feet when she came to, all the same.

I thought about how long it would be until we were found. It couldn't take them that long. We'd been a ways into the woods, but I trusted that Rarity would be able to round up a search party in no time. There were other pegasi in town, and if I could find another clearing, I could fly up and signal them if they came into view.

After about another half hour of trudging my aching hooves across the moss and dirt, I found a spot that might be safe enough, though even if it wasn't, I had to stop. I pulled Fluttershy's cloak-stretcher under a fallen tree. The tree was bigger around than both of us standing end to end, and looked to have fallen some time ago. It had landed on a group of smaller trees, which had managed to survive, and had grown around and through the dead giant, forming a strange natural shelter. At another time, I could have admired the beauty of it.

I leaned up against one of the supporting trees, letting out a low groan as I felt the throbbing in my legs. I was confidant that we'd put a reasonable distance between us and the wolves, finally. Now it was time to make sure they stayed away.

My father taught me that most animals have an instinctive aversion to fire. Timberwolves, being made almost entirely of wood, took this to an extreme- if I could get a fire going, I could keep them away indefinitely. A fire would also give the added benefit of smoke, which would be easily visible through the canopy, alerting any rescuers to our location, so I wouldn't need to go searching for a hole in the treetops..

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to start a fire with, which seemed darkly ironic considering the sheer volume of readily available tinder and wood. Had I not been so tired, I might have laughed. I had learned how to make a bow drill in the scouts, but I was so tired that the thought of doing even such a simple task sent me near another spout of depression.

I looked over at Fluttershy. She looked so small and fragile right now. If it hadn't been for me coming here, she never would have come to these woods, and she wouldn't be hurt. "I'm so sorry, Fluttershy." I forced myself to stand back up, and I marched over to her. "I got you into this. I'm going to get you out. Don't worry, though," I brushed her matted mane out of her face, "I'm not going far."

It didn't take me long to find everything I needed. Gathering enough tinder to get things going was laughably quick. I also found some smooth wood for a fireboard, vines and a few fairly straight sticks to make a bow and drill, and two rocks. The first one had a relatively sharp edge on one side, which i used to sharpen the drill and cut a groove in the fireboard. The other rock had a small indent, and I could use it as a socket on top of the drill.

Assembling my makeshift fire starting gear had taken about fifteen minutes, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I had graduated the Colt Scouts as a Life scout, the second highest achievable rank. I had worked my flank off to get there. Despite everything I'd done, I'd been unable to earn Griffon, because of the requirements concerning... talents and cutie marks. It had been a damning experience as a colt, and one of the lowlights of my growing up. I couldn't be completely upset about it, though, as it had allowed me more time to practice my skills, and what I lacked in natural talent, I had made up for through rote memorization and mind-numbing hours of practice.

The thickness of these woods kept rain from getting in quickly, but also blocked the sunlight needed to dry the forest floor properly, and everything had a slight dampness to it. I spent the next twenty minutes trying to make a few sparks to get the fire going. My legs burned with exhaustion, and I had begun crying from a combination of pain and anger. I was seconds away from giving up completely, when I saw the starter in the fireboard beginning to brighten and turn red. I yelled, and the sudden burst of energy that I felt gave me the push I needed. In moments, thick smoke had begun to unfurl from the fireboard, and I dropped the drill and bow to the side, blowing on the starter as I threw tinder carefully on top and around the board.

A few minutes later, I lay on the ground, a smoky but stable fire warming the area. Everything ached, but I felt good. I had done something right today, finally. I mused to myself that the firelight was probably the brightest lighting this area had ever seen. I needed rest, but I found myself unable to sleep, so I lay with my face turned towards the treetops, a few feet from Fluttershy. We were safe now, at least from the wolves.

I stared up into the trees for a long while, thinking about the incredible morning I'd had today. I would definitely not be counting today among my best days ever, but I had to admit that it had been the most surprising and the most exciting day I'd had since I could remember. I glanced over at my resting companion, and felt the pang of guilt return. I prayed her wing would heal. I was sure it was just a dislocation and strain, and would be alright in a few days, but if it wasn't? If I was wrong? And what if she took sick from infection, because I hadn't been able to bandage her wounds? What if she'd suffered major trauma internally?

I forced myself away from the painful questions. Thinking like that never helped. I had to stay calm, and focus on getting us found and out of here. I tried to look on the positive, counting the things to be immediately thankful for. It was one of several exercises I'd taught myself growing up, to counter my intermittent bouts of depression and anxiety.

"One," I began. It always helped to say things out loud. "we're both alive... Two, we're away from the timberwolves. Three, we have a fire. Four, there's a rescue party on the way." That sounded pretty good for the moment. I repeated the small list a few times, then looked over at the fire.

"Well, Chaser," I said to myself, "this is you, finding your destiny." I was used to having one-sided conversations. "Not exactly going the way you had hoped, huh?" I glanced over at Fluttershy. "Not the mark you wanted to make in this town. It's gonna be okay, though. Everything is gonna be okay. She'll get home, and maybe you can find another town, and try again..."

I started awake. I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep, and I didn't know how long I'd been out. It couldn't have been long- the fire was still going, barely. I rolled over, discovering soreness in many places I wasn't normally conscious of. Rubbing the stiffness from my legs, I reached over and threw some more wood onto the dying flames, watching them lick at the new food hungrily. After I got the fire going strong again, I glanced over to Fluttershy's makeshift stretcher. I leapt to my hooves. She was awake. "Fluttershy?"

She was looking into the fire, absently fretting with her good wing. She startled a bit, and an adorable gasp hopped out of her mouth. She looked up at me, then back at the fire. "..."

"It's me, Chaser. We met this morning, before you ran out of Sugarcube Corner?" I took a step towards her.

"I... I know who you are... I mean, I remember." She was so softspoken, the fire threatened to swallow her words on their way to me. "You're the... the, um..." She didn't finish her sentence.

"The hunter?" I finished, and I watched her wince. It probably wasn't from pain. "No, I'm not."

The wince was replaced with confusion. "What? B-but, back in town, you said..."

"That I was wearing a hunter's cloak."

She stared at me for a moment, and I saw realization slowly dawning across her face. "Oh, my." She brought a hoof to her mouth. "You aren't a hunter."

"No. The cloak belonged to my father, who _was_ a hunter, years and years ago. He gave it to me when I left home." I was right next to her now. "I am so sorry, Fluttershy. If I had known... I wanted to explain, but you ran off before I could get a word out." She stared at me for a moment, then looked away, her eyes tearing up. "I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault. I never meant for this to happen..." I stopped. I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Oh, Mister Chaser, it isn't your fault!" Her voice was full of concern, and surprisingly strong. "I should have asked, instead of just assuming."

"No, Fluttershy, it _is_ my fault. You wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for me."

We shared awkward silence for a few lingering moments. Fluttershy finally broke it, as she reached back and tenderly brushed her wounded wing. "You... you did this?"

"Yeah. I know a little first aid. It's not too tight, is it?"

"Oh, no, it's fine."

"Good. I'm just sorry I let you get hurt in the first place."

Her eyes widened as she spoke, "Oh, but it really is my fault, Mister Chaser! I shouldn't have come in here alone."

I sighed. "I told you before, it's just Chaser..."

"Um, okay... Chaser. Th-thank you for, um, tying up my wing."

"You're welcome." I smiled. "So, how about we, uh, share the blame on this one?"

"Oh, no, Mist- uh, Chaser. I mean, you didn't do anything."

"Well, neither did you."

"Yes I did." She hung her head.

"Really? It seems to me that all you did was selflessly try to warn some animals about a dangerous hunter, to keep them safe. That doesn't sound wrong to me. It sounds pretty brave."

She looked up. "I'm not brave. I was just, well, I didn't want anyone to get hurt." She turned to look at her wing. "I didn't do a very good job."

There was a large crackling sound from behind us. Fluttershy jumped with a yelp, and as she did, she fluttered her wings. "AH!" She screamed from the pain, and fell, clutching her side and reaching for her bound wing.

"Fluttershy!" I barely managed to catch her before she slammed her wings into the ground. "It was just the fire. It's safe." I set her down as gently as I could, trying not to let it show how sore I was. "Try not to move your wing. You need to keep it as still as you can." Her wounds hadn't reopened, so that was something. I placed a hoof gently on hers, and pulled it away from her wounded side. "And try not to touch the cuts. That'll just hurt more, and they might start bleeding again."

When she opened her eyes, they were rimmed with tears again. "I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to- Oh, I'm so stupid!" she yelled... softly?

"No, you're caring, and kind. The only reason you got hurt was because you were trying to help others."

"But I..." she began, looking to the fire.

"Fluttershy." I put a hoof to her face, and turned her to look me in the eyes. I couldn't just let her sit there and feel sorry for herself over something that was my fault. "It's okay. We all make mistakes sometimes, right?" I smiled. "At least your mistake was a brave one."

She looked at me for a long moment, and then smiled briefly. "Well, I guess," she sniffled, "but usually my mistakes don't get me stuck in the Everfree forest with a busted wing."

"Probably not, no. It'll be okay, though." I pointed to the fire. "The smoke here should be pretty easy to see from above the trees. Someone'll find us, and you'll be back in Ponyville in no time."

She looked at me for a few seconds, then smiled again, larger than before. The butterflies in my stomach seemed to settle, and I felt myself relax. She was very pretty when she smiled. Er, prettier. Not that I was taking advantage of the situation.

Abruptly, her expression changed to one of confusion again. "What is it?" She was looking at something behind me, and I turned around to look. Nothing was there. "What do you see? Is something..." I turned back, and I realized she wasn't looking behind me. She was looking at my ... "Oh." My face fell. In my relief over finding her alive earlier, I'd completely forgotten that she was lying on my cloak, and I was exposed. I backed up, turning my flank so she couldn't see it any more. "I-I can explain. See..." I stopped, and hung my head.

She leaned forward, blinking a few times. "You...you don't..."

I had hoped I would have had a little more time before having to reveal my hidden shame. At least a few days. I felt tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, but my voice was steady as I answered. "No, I don't. Th-that's why I was wearing the cloak... So no one would see."

"Chaser...".

"I know. I'm a blank flank." I started to walk around the fire. "That's why I left Snowfall. I've been an outcast in my home most of my life. I came here to... Oh, frostfeathers, I don't even know any more." I kicked the ground in frustration. "I thought maybe... I could finally find my talent, or at least see what it was like not being stared at everywhere I go, like a freak." I had made a full circuit as I spoke, and was now at her side again. I looked up into her eyes, and stopped. She wasn't looking at me like I'd expected. In fact, she was crying. Her tears reflected against her face like stars in the firelight. "Um, is everything okay? Are you in pain?"

"No. I mean, yes, but... Oh, Chaser, that's so sad!" She leapt forward and embraced me in a hug, startling me. We shared a moment like that, and then she came to her senses, and leapt away just as quickly as she'd come. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I don't know what..." Her face grew redder and redder as she spoke.

"Um... it's okay." My face felt as hot as the fire. I hadn't expected that at all. "But you, uh, shouldn't do anything like that. You'll strain your injuries."

We didn't speak again for a few minutes, and I tended the fire to keep myself distracted. I tried not to think about what had just happened. Fluttershy just kept looking at me, and I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Chaser," she finally asked, "Um... Does anyone else in Ponyville know... about...?"

"No. It, uh, didn't come up in conversation." And I wasn't in any hurry to tell. Not that it mattered anymore.

"Ok. Do, um, do you want me... to keep it a secret?"

What? "You'd do that?"

"W-well, you don't seem to want anypony to know, right?"

"I... well, not right away. I don't want anypony to judge me before they know me."

She nodded. "I understand. I won't tell anypony. I mean, if you don't want me to."

I felt a warmth inside that had nothing to do with the fire. "I... don't know what to say, Fluttershy. Thanks."

She smiled at me, and slowly tried standing again. She got to her feet, and came over to sit next to me, and rest her good side against the trees. "You said that... that I was brave for coming into the woods." She looked at me and smiled again. "I think you're brave... for lots of things. For fighting those timberwolves, for searching for me... for coming here at all."

Was I? Did leaving home for anonymity count as bravery? "Th-thanks."

Suddenly, I heard something moving off in the distance. I jumped to my hooves, ignoring the aching resistance, and stepped in front of Fluttershy. "Who's there?" She clung to my back legs as she hid behind me. My mind raced. It couldn't be the wolves. A manticore, maybe? Or a dragon? Please not a dragon.

"Hello, there, my fire starting stranger!" Came a reply. "I assure you, I present no danger! I saw smoke in the sky, and thought it strange to my eye."

The silhouette of a pony-like figure became visible as they came closer, until the firelight revealed...

"You're a zebra?"

"I am that which you spy." She looked behind me. "Is that my good friend, Fluttershy?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy let go of my legs, and stood up. "Zecora! Thank goodness you're here." She turned to face the zebra. "Zecora, this is my new friend... Chaser. He's, um, from out of town."

Zecora nodded, the rings on her neck making a soft metal sound as it moved. "I extend to you a warm welcome. But why to these dark woods have you come?"

"Well, Zecora," I started, "Um, it's a bit of a story. If you could help us out of here, I'd be more than happy to tell you."

"Certainly, though I must first say, as pegasus, could you two not simply fly away?" Did she have to make everything she said rhyme?

"Well, Fluttershy has been injured." I pointed, and Fluttershy turned to show off her wrapped wing.

"Oh my, what a terrible thing! You have a busted wing!" She approached the fire, examining Fluttershy's wounds. "And you have cuts and scrapes, of all sizes and shapes! What did this pain by which you came?"

I realized I was still exposed, and took a moment while Zecora was examining Fluttershy to casually make my way to the cloak. I quickly stripped off the vines and sticks, and was again happy to see it was unstained, and untorn. As I placed it back on, I turned to face the Zebra. "Timberwolves. They were chasing her. That's why I built the fire, to keep them away."

"Timberwolves, this far east? Something must disturb their peace." She began to kick dirt into the fire to put it out. "I will take you to where I stay, but first we must make this fire go away."

"Let me help." Together we buried the fire. After it was gone, I waited a moment for my eyes to readjust to the dim forest light. I turned to the mysterious zebra. "Well, uh, I guess we'll follow you." I took a few steps over to Fluttershy. "Are you okay to walk on your own?"

She nodded. "I'll be okay, I think."

"Okay." I leaned in close. "Thank you again," I whispered. She smiled at me.

"Come," Zecora chanted, "my home is but a few miles away. We will surely reach it by end of day." She started to trot off, and we followed closely behind.

"I'm really glad you showed up. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to find us."

Zecora smiled. "Does anyone else know you are here? Finding you should bring them much cheer."

"I sent Rarity into town to find help."

"For Fluttershy's injury. That much I can see. You said you would explain, so please, what caused her this great timberwolf pain?"

"Well," I glanced up at her, "It all started yesterday, really..."

Zecora's hut was decorated with all sorts of strange tribal masks, hanging herbs, and odd jars and baskets containing a variety of weird-smelling plants. We'd made it there just in time; I wasn't sure Fluttershy could have gone much further.

Zecora had listened to my story as I had given her a brief overview of the tale, leaving out my lack of cutie mark. She had listened solemnly on the walk, and had not spoken since I had finished. As she went about mixing together several plants into a steaming cauldron in the center of the room, she began to speak.

"I know what it must feel like, to be so far from home. I, too, am on my own here, though not so much alone. I hope that Ponyville finds you fair, as long as you decide to visit there."

"Uh, thank you, Zecora."

She didn't say much more until she finished her brew. Taking a mug from off a shelf, she filled it with the sweet-smelling liquid, and brought it to a very tired looking Fluttershy. "This will help your pains to ease. Drink it all, if you would, please."

Fluttershy took the cup and nodded thankfully, and began to sip at the warm liquid. "Mmm. Juniper berry!" She smiled.

"You too, Chaser, if you'd care," she said, offering me a mug, "There is plenty of this drink to share."

I took the mug, watching the steam rise lazily off the drink. "Thank you." I sat, and began sipping at the hot drink. It did taste like juniper berries. And mint.

Zecora walked over to a mortar and pestle sitting on a table, and began grinding some herbs into it. "Now, my little ponies, to make something for those injuries." She began humming an unfamiliar tune as she worked. It was nice, and the drink was starting to work its way into my system. It was almost like a soft pillow for my ears. I looked across the table at Fluttershy, and she seemed to be feeling the effects more strongly than I was. Her cup was already empty, and she lay with her head on the table, looking almost relaxed, a gentle smile on her face.

"Oh, thank you, Zecora. I feel much better," she said.

Zecora turned to face us a moment later, carrying the pestle full of herb-goo over to Fluttershy, along with some bandages. "You are welcome, Flutter, my friend. Now, let me help your wounds to mend." She applied the newly made salve to Fluttershy's wounds. "Your cuts and scrapes, this salve will help repair, then I will go to find a doctor's care. Stay here, both of you, and rest." She finished wrapping loose bandages around Fluttershy's wounds, and helped her up from the table, over to a cot on one side of the room.

"Will you..." Fluttershy asked, "come back soon?"

Zecora headed for the door. "I will do my very best." She turned to me. "I know you must be weary; I will not be very long. You should help your new friend relax, with perhaps a story, or a song?" She smiled at me.

I nodded. "Uh... sure. I'll make sure she gets rest until you get back with a doctor.".

Zecora left, and I walked slowly over to the chair next to the cot. I felt a bit wobbly, like my limbs were a long way away, but at least they didn't hurt quite so bad. Sitting down in the chair, I looked at Fluttershy. She seemed a little better, and I was incredibly grateful for her Zebraharan friend and her timely arrival. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she sighed. "Chaser, I-I wanted to thank you, again, for saving me."

"I wouldn't have had to save you if I hadn't gotten you in trouble."

"Well, maybe. But you still saved me. Right?"

I scratched my head. "I guess so, yeah."

"Well, then... thank you."

"You're welcome. And thank you for, you know, not saying anything."

"About what?" She grinned at me. I couldn't help grinning back. There was a minute or two of quiet in the hut, and then Fluttershy asked, "So, are you, um, going to sing, or tell a story?"

"Huh?"

She looked up at the ceiling. "Zecora said that you should tell a story, or sing something. I mean, if that's alright. You... You don't have to."

"Oh... I-I guess I could, if you want me to. I mean, I only know one song, and I think I know a story or two..." Why had she said that? Dumb Zebra rhymes.

"What song?"

"What? Oh," I fidgeted, "it's a lullaby my mom used to sing me when I was a colt. It's silly, really."

"I'd like to hear it... if it's okay."

Well, she asked. "Okay, but I warn you, I'm not very good." I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, remembering the song my mother had taught me so long ago.

_"__The__snow__is__cold__and__deep__, __the__world__is__cast__in__white__,_

_But__we__are__safe__inside__, __kept__warm__by__firelight__._

_No__matter__what__the__morning__brings__, _

_I__always__will__be__here_

_So__sleep__, __my__child__, __and__dream__your__dreams__tonight_

_ "__The__wind__blows__hard__and__cold__, __and__howls__against__the__night_

_But__we__are__safe__inside__, __kept__warm__by__firelight_

_No__matter__what__the__storms__may__bring_

_You__rest__within__my__heart_

_So__sleep__, __my__child__, __and__dream__your__dreams__tonight_

I glanced down at Fluttershy as I finished my mother's lullaby. She was fast asleep. Zecora's medicine was effective, at least.

I was drowsy myself. I settled into the chair as comfortably as I could, and closed my eyes. Zecora would be back soon, with a doctor, and Fluttershy would be alright. I could rest... for a little while. I still didn't know how to go about finding my talent, but I had solved one self-imposed crisis today, and I couldn't help but feel as though I had accomplished something. At least things would settle down after this.


	6. Visiting Hours

The door to the waiting area opened, and a nurse came in with a clipboard. "Mister Chaser?" She looked around the room for a moment, trying to find me. I stood up and walked over.

"That's me."

She smiled. "The doctor says she'll be just fine. You can see her now, if you'd like." She held the door for me, and I walked through to the patient ward.

"Uh, yes I would, thanks."

"You're very welcome." She walked me down the hallway towards her room. "What you did today was very brave. Fluttershy is a well-loved member of this community. I'm sure there'll be a lot of ponies that want to thank you."

"Uh, yeah." The doctor had said the same thing when he got to the hut last night. So had the paramedics that had taken us to the hospital. I'd heard it about five times now, and it was getting a little annoying.

We stopped in front of a room about two-thirds of the way down the hall. Fluttershy's name was on the board next to the door. "Here she is."

The room was lit brightly, with a large window facing out the rear of the building. The window was open slightly, and the cool night air drifted in, diffusing the sterile smell of the hospital with subtle hints of lilies from the gardens below. Fluttershy lay on her good side, looking out the window at the clear night sky. Her bandages had been replaced, and her coat had been cleaned of blood. She looked much better.

I quietly knocked on the open door as I came in, and she turned her head to see who it was. When she saw me, she smiled and sat up, turning towards me. "Oh!" she exclaimed softly, "Hi, Chaser."

"Hi." I tried to smile as I walked over towards her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The doctor said I might even be able to go home tomorrow... Thanks to you and Zecora, that is." She pointed to her wing. It had been tightly wrapped and bound to her side, to prevent her from accidentally flapping it and causing any more strain. "But I'm not supposed to try flying for at least a week." She sighed.

"Well, I'm just glad you're alright." I shuffled my hooves awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next.

"I will be." She lay back gingerly, and looked out the window. "I'm worried about all my little animals, though."

"I'm sure they'll be okay." I took another few steps, coming to the foot of the bed. "They seemed just fine this morning."

"Oh, but that was so long ago! They haven't been fed, or brushed, and they're probably all scared and upset." She looked really distressed at the thought.

I was the reason she'd gone into the woods, so I was the one who had put her in here. Helping out was the least I could do. "Hey, why don't I go check on them?" I said quickly, "I can get them some food, at least, a-and make sure they're all okay!"

"You'd do that?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure! I... just wish I could offer to do more." It couldn't be all that difficult, could it? I figured I could manage it well enough for one night. They were just animals; how hard could it be?

Fluttershy slid down to the foot of the bed to give me a hug. "Oh, Chaser, you don't know how much that means to me. Thank you so much!"

The hug caught me completely off guard. At first, I just stood there, feeling her against me. I figured that might come across as awkward, so I tried to return the hug. I wasn't terribly experienced at this sort of thing, and I'm glad no one was there to watch me fumble about, but I think I managed alright. At any rate, after a few moments, she scooted back up the bed and lay down again, smiling.

After a moment of silence, I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and smiled. "Okay, then," I could feel my cheeks glowing as I headed for the door, "I should probably head over there now, before it gets any later."

"Oh, yes." Fluttershy nodded. "They have food in the back you can give them." Then as an afterthought, she added, "Oh, and make sure to let them know I'll be home soon, so they don't worry... If it's not too terribly inconvenient."

"Uh, yeah. No problem. I will." I headed out the door, feeling a bit foggy. I hoped this wouldn't take too long.

I couldn't get the thought of that hug out of my mind as I wandered to Fluttershy's cottage in a daze. It felt... really nice. Warm, and comforting. She had smelled like wildflowers and warm summer breezes... "Stop." I chided myself. "You're being silly. She was just thanking you for offering to help, remember? Don't read into it..." I would have continued berating myself, had I not heard a voice from across the street.

"Mommy, why is that stallion talking to himself?"

"Don't pay him any mind, dear."

I turned to see ponies across the street, seated at a table in front of a shop, who were staring at me with mixed expressions. I waved at them, and laughed, and it sounded about as awkward as I felt. I hurried along, mumbling, "Great. Now the ponies here think you're crazy, to boot."

I finally came over the hill and saw her cottage in the distance. It looked lonely in the dark, without any lights inside to warm it...

I sighed loudly, trying to refocus on my task, and fluttered up over the front gate. Dozens of beady eyes appeared over the span of her yard as I landed, some from bushes, others in trees. Half-awake critters watched as I marched towards the cottage. The bear I'd seen earlier lay against a large oak, snoozing peacefully. Several bunnies were huddled in a pile by a large rhododendron bush. Birds were blinking at me from the trees. I stepped up to the front door and cleared my throat.

"Uh, hey, little... animals. My name is Chaser. I was here earlier today." I felt like I was introducing myself to a classroom. "I'm here to get you something to eat. I just have to go around to the back of the house real quick, so wait here, ok?" When no one moved, I took my leave, trotting away quickly around the cottage.

I scanned the border of the house, checking for any sort of storage containers as I went. As I rounded the back, I saw them- several large barrels, stacked up against the back wall of the cottage, next to a tiny back door. As soon as I got to them, I threw the lid off of the nearest barrel and gazed inside. In the bright moonlight I spied large pellets of animal food, and a scoop for pulling them out.

Looking around, I found several large, empty food bowls near the barrels. I filled them as quickly as I could, and besides spilling a couple of pellets behind the barrel, it was fairly easy. Once they were all filled, I grabbed them one by one and placed them out in the back yard, making sure to space them out reasonably so the animals wouldn't bump into each other while they ate. Then I went back around to the front of the house, where the animals were finally milling about, and stood by the front door again.

"Hi again, um, critters!" I shouted nervously. ""I bet you're all really hungry by now! Fluttershy asked me to come and get you all some food, so... I put it out back for you. Fluttershy asked me to do it because she can't come home tonight. She said to let you all know she'll be back as soon as she can though, and not to worry!" I hoped they understood.

The big bear yawned and stretched, and the birds began flitting out of the trees and flying around back. Bunnies and mice started scampering around me, and soon, the yard was empty, save for myself. I could hear crunching sounds in the back. "Whew." I wiped my brow. This had been so much easier than I had thought it would be. "Now to head back and-" I almost tripped over a bunny that was staring up at me. "Oh, hi there, little guy." I leaned over. "Don't you want some food, too?"

The little white bunny regarded me for a moment, then reached out its tiny paw and slapped me across the face.

"OW!"

I bumped the door while trying to back up, my cheek burning. I looked down at the bunny, incredulous. "What the hay was that for?"

It produced a picture from behind its back, pointing at it angrily. I looked closer.

"Fluttershy?" It nodded. "You want to know where Fluttershy is? " It nodded more vigorously. " She isn't here. She isn't coming home tonight. She's..." I hesitated, "in the hospital."

The bunny's ears went straight up when it heard the word 'hospital', and for a moment I thought it might hit me again. I cringed in expectation, but instead, it turned and started hopping towards town. It easily cleared the tiny fence, and took off down the path.

"Hey, wait a minute! You can't do that! Fluttershy didn't say you could leave!" I dashed off after it. "Stop! You're gonna get us both in trouble!" Of all the things... It had been going so well, too. Couldn't one thing just... go right today?

I chased that sadistic rabbit all the way back to the hospital, yelling at it most of the way. Thank Luna most of the town was inside for the night, and I was only seen by two or three ponies during the chase. I couldn't believe it could run so fast on those stubby little legs! I was exhausted by the time I finally caught him. He squirmed and cried as I lifted him up. "Gotcha, ya little... face slapper." I was too out of breath to think of anything else to say.

I looked up, and saw the hospital standing in front of me. Had we really run all that way? I looked back down the path, thinking about how far I'd run after him. I'd have to travel all the way back again to get the little guy home. I decided it just wasn't worth it. I looked down at him, and sighed. "Fine. You win. I'm not taking you back. I'm way too tired. C'mon." I set him down carefully, and he looked up at me, disgruntled, as he smoothed out his fur before following. "But you better behave in here. There are sick ponies, who don't need a rampaging rabbit in their rooms."

I walked back to the patient ward after waving at the front desk, and found my way to Fluttershy's room, the obnoxious bunny in tow. Her door was partly shut, so I slowly pushed it open, and whispered, "Fluttershy? You awake?"

"Yes," came the soft reply. I almost fell over as the bunny dived under me, between my legs, and rushed into the room.

"Woah! Hey, get back here you little-"

It jumped up on the bed and hopped into Fluttershy's arms. "Angel, bunny! I've missed you so much today, sweetie."

I walked in to find the bunny snuggling Fluttershy for dear life, while she ran a hoof down its back gently. "Yeah. He, uh, really wanted to come and see you."

"Oh, thank you, Chaser! I'm so glad you could bring him here."

Angel bunny glared at me as I smiled and replied, "Uh, sure. No trouble at all." I leaned in to pat him on the head, and he growled at me. Maybe later.

Just then, a voice issued from the hallway. "Hey, guys, I found her!" It was followed by several more.

"Fluttershy!"

"There you are!"

"Fluttershy, darling!"

"Yay!"

"Well, ain't you a sight fer sore eyes!"

Voices from the hall quickly became ponies in the room. I recognized Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie was carrying a stack of what looked like get-well-soon cards, and a huge bunch of balloons had been tied to her tail, to the point that she almost floated into the room. With them were a rainbow-maned pegasus, a purple unicorn and an orange earth pony in a cowpony hat. I was practically shoved away from the bed by the pegasus as she zoomed over to stand next to Fluttershy, ignoring me entirely. "You have no idea how worried you had all these scaredy-ponies!" she said as she waved a hoof towards the other four mares. "Not me, though. I knew you'd be fine," she said with an air of confidence.

"Which was why you volunteered to head up the pegasi search team, right?" retorted the cowpony, "'You were just yellin' at everypony to hurry so Fluttershy didn't get bored waiting for us, huh?" She laughed.

I was pushed to the other end of the room as the others took positions around the bed, and began speaking over each other in their excitement, celebrating the safe return of their friend. The room was suddenly much too loud, and too small. I tried to make it to the door, and excuse myself without being noticed, when my back hoof hit a large cable, and I tripped onto a small table I hadn't noticed before.

The table yelped. I followed suit, leaping into the air and looking down to see what had just happened. I discovered, to my shock, that I hadn't tripped over a cable at all. I had tripped over a tail.

A dragon tail.

"Dragon!" I dived towards the creature without a thought, my hooves outstretched to catch it as I swooped low. The thing couldn't have been more than ten or fifteen years old- a baby, by dragon standards- and it might just be confused, though how it had gotten this far into the building without any mayhem... There was no time to think about that. I needed to get it out of the building before it tried to eat or steal something, or somepony, and caused major damage, not to mention panic. I caught it between my hooves, and my momentum carried us out the door and into the hall.

"Hey! Whatcha-?" the dragon began to protest, which caught me by surprise. Dragons don't normally learn to talk so young. He stopped abruptly when, due to my momentary distraction, we both collided with the wall opposite the doorway. A resounding thud echoed down the hall, causing several heads to come peeking out of doors and around corners to investigate.

Before I could recover and get the dazed baby dragon outside to safety, I was smacked in the chin by a blue hoof. I stumbled backwards, my world spinning about as I recoiled from the force of the blow. I tasted the smallest hint of blood in my mouth. I fell to the floor, and then felt hooves begin pulling me up. "Hey, what!? Leggo! There's a dragon!"

"We know, sugarcube," a twangy voice responded from my left.

"Yeah. What we don't know," a voice on my right continued harshly, "is who the hay you are? And what you're doing in Fluttershy's room?"

I turned to see cowpony and rainbowmane holding me by my forelegs. They both held me firmly, but the pegasus was gripping me so hard it hurt. I was trying to sort out what would cause a response like this, when the purple unicorn rushed past us, over to the dragon, and began to help it up. "Spike, are you okay?" she asked it.

"Ugh..." it groaned, holding its head and spinning about.

Rarity ran out past the three of us in the doorway, coming to the creature's other side. "Ooh, little Spikey-wikey! Are you all right, dearie?" She whipped her head around to me, a look on her face somewhere near, but not quite reaching, anger. "Chaser! What _are_ you thinking? Why would you do such a thing?"

"Yeah!" The rainbow-colored pegasus snapped a look of confusion towards Rarity. "Wait a minute. Chaser?" Her confusion redirected towards me. "This crazy stallion is the pony who found Fluttershy?"

"I'm not crazy, I'm trying to protect you all!" I grunted as I struggled against the grips on my legs. These mares were strong. Cowpony finally obliged, releasing my left leg, but rainbowmane was in no rush to follow suit. She glared at me with a look of intense distrust.

"Protect us?" Cowpony asked me incredulously as she let go, "From who? Spike?"

"Yes!" I yelled, "From Spike! ... Wait, you know it's name?" Uh oh. I was starting to realize I had missed something.

"Spike is our good friend," Rarity explained, her expression softening.

"Yeah, I'm a good guy!" the dragon leapt forward, still a bit unsteady. "Really! I'm not like other dragons."

"He's also my assistant and scribe." The other unicorn turned to me. She sighed, blowing a loose piece of magenta hair back into her violet mane. "I can understand your confusion. Your father was a hunter, after all. But do you really think a wild dragon would be able to walk into a hospital like this and not get noticed?"

"I, well, I mean... that is... wait. How do you know about my father?"

"Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They explained everything to us while we were searching for Fluttershy. Well, and for you." She stepped forward and raised a hoof towards me in greeting.

I went to shake her hoof, but was stopped by the death grip on my right leg from the pegasus, who was still looking at me like I was crazy. "Um, can I have my leg back now?"

"Huh?" She looked like she'd forgotten she'd been holding me, and the ugly glower disappeared from her eyes. "Oh. right." She let go, and I rubbed my leg for a moment to try and get some circulation back into it, then turned to the unicorn who was still waiting to shake my hoof.

I shook unicorn's hoof uncertainly. "Well, you already know who I am, apparently. Can I ask who you all might be?"

"Oh, of course!" The unicorn blushed slightly. "How rude of me. My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you." She turned to the two ponies who'd been restraining me. "This is Applejack, and Rainbow Dash."

"Howdy," Applejack waved quickly, "Sorry about the mix-up, there. Ya alright?"

I rubbed my jaw tenderly, feeling the bruise developing beneath the surface. The pegasus had gotten me good. "I'm okay. I feel pretty silly, though."

"Well, next time, just ask before tackling somepony... er, dragon." Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs and leaned against the door frame coolly.

Pinkie Pie's voice resounded from Fluttershy's room, "Did somebody say silly?" She bounced out, grinning as always. "Hiya, Chaser!"

"Uh, hey, Pinkie." The hallway was getting more crowded than the hospital room had been. "Um, how're you?"

"Hey, not that playing catch up in the hall isn't cool," Rainbow interjected, "but it's really not. It's actually pretty boring. Besides, Fluttershy is in there," she pointed into the room, "And I thought we came here for her."

"Oh, t-that's okay," Fluttershy's soft voice peeped up, "Take your time. It's fine."

Everyone but Pinkie rolled their eyes. "Nonsense, dear," said Rarity.

"We're coming, Fluttershy," followed Twilight Sparkle. Her horn glowed magenta, and there was a flash. I shielded my eyes from the sudden light, and when I removed my leg, she had vanished. There was a flash behind me, and I turned around to discover she had teleported into the hospital room, skipping past all of us who were blocking the doorway. "Huh. That's a neat trick," I muttered quietly.

"Wanna see another one?" Pinkie asked as she bounced in front of me, "because I've been practicing this really neat party trick for almost a week, and I think I've got it down now! I just need a sheet of cloth, and some eggs, or a ball..."

"What? Uh, maybe later, Pinkie."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" And she bounced back into the room, followed shortly by the other ponies, and Spike.

In the moments of absence, others had gained entry into Fluttershy's room. Several birds and a squirrel had managed to get in through the open window, and were sitting near the head of the bed, where Fluttershy was nuzzling them sweetly. Several more perched on the windowsill, and through the window, the larger animals were standing about on the garden lawn, looking in- a few more bunnies, ferrets, and the big bear. The animals must have finished eating, and followed Angel and I.

"Hey, Fluttershy." Twilight Sparkle leaned in towards her friend, smiling, "You had us all really scared."

Fluttershy looked up. "I'm sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to make you all worry."

Twilight slid a chair over with her telekinesis, and sat down next to the bed. "Well, next time something upsets you, come and talk to us about it before making any potentially dangerous decisions."

"Speaking of danger," Rainbow Dash piped up, "What happened in the woods? Looks like you had a pretty crazy day in there."

"Yes," Twilight leaned in, "I was going to ask the same thing. Could you fill us all in on what happened to you?" I thought I sensed a hint of academic curiosity buried just below the surface of her concern.

"Oh, well... I..." Fluttershy looked nervous. "It all happened so fast... Um, Chaser? Do you think you could help... I mean, if it's alright?" She glanced at me, still standing in the doorway awkwardly, a pleading expression in her eyes.

"Uh, sure." I stepped into the room, feeling everyone turning towards me. "I'm not that great a storyteller, though, so if you get bored and fall asleep, I warned you, okay?" No one laughed. I wasn't surprised; I'm not that good at being funny, either. "Okay, well." I cleared my throat, and tried to remember the events of the day. Pinkie opened the window all the way, so the animals could hear. "Um, well, Rarity and I split up, you all know that. I ran towards the woods as fast as I could..."

"...So they brought us into town, looked me over, and had Fluttershy admitted while Zecora went to find all of you, I guess."

A nurse rapped at the door, and we all turned. "Visiting hours are almost up. Better wrap up the bedtime story, hero." She winked at me, and left. I resisted the heavy urge to sigh.

"Yeah. So, um, that's pretty much the whole story. I think." I turned to Fluttershy. "Am I missing anything?" I'd left the personal bits out and just given them the facts, but I was pretty sure I'd covered it all.

She shook her head softly. "Um, well, I wasn't awake for some of it, but I think you got it all."

"That was... a cooler story than I'd expected. Way to go have an adventure without us, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash looked impressed.

I blushed slightly. "Well, I don't know if it was all that impressive."

Twilight Sparkle looked at me, intrigued. "Actually, Chaser, it really was. It sounds like you were the perfect pony for the job. I'm curious, though. You said Zecora mentioned the timberwolves were out of place, that close to town?"

I thought back to the poetic shaman's words in the woods. "Uh, yeah, I think so. She said they shouldn't have been this far east, I think."

"Hmm." I saw a glint in her eye, and she smiled. "Spike, come on. We've got research to do."

Spike jumped up from the edge of the bed where he'd been sitting. "Oh, boy, more research," he groaned.

"Spike..." She looked down her nose at him, motherly in her authority.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He turned to run up the bed, and gave Fluttershy a quick hug. "Bye, Fluttershy. Glad you're okay."

"Thank you, Spike."

"Fluttershy," Twilight said at the doorway, "get plenty of rest, alright?"

"I'll try, Twilight. Thank you."

Twilight smiled. "You're welcome. Good night, everypony!"

There was a wave of goodnights, and Twilight and Spike were gone. Rainbow Dash stretched and yawned. "I should probably get going, too. Heading up a search party is tiring work, and tomorrow I'm on morning cloud duty." She dropped down to the bedside and gave a half hug to Fluttershy. "Next time-"

"I know," Fluttershy grinned sheepishly, "Don't go alone."

"Exactly! That's what friends are for, right? Anyway, Before I go, I, uh, brought you something for while you're waiting for your wing to heal." She pulled something out of a satchel near the floor. It was a book. She handed it to Fluttershy, who immediately got misty-eyed.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," she protested, "I couldn't..."

"Sure ya can! It's cool; I've read it like ten times already." She glanced around at those of us still in the room, a serious look on her face. "Not that I'm an egghead or anything."

Fluttershy took the book- a copy of the first Daring Do novel, one of my favorites- and hugged it to her chest. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I'll try and read it quickly."

"Well, not too quickly, or you might miss the part on page fifty-seven where..." She stopped, laughed nervously, and ran a hoof through her mane. "Eh-heh. What I mean is, take your time." Fluttershy nodded.

Rainbow shot over to me, a smug look on her face. "You seem pretty cool, Chaser. Not as cool as me, but pretty close. We should hang sometime, when I'm at my full awesome levels."

"Uh..." Wow, what an ego. She was a friend of Fluttershy, though, and I couldn't see her befriending someone who was a jerk. Why not? "Sure. Ok."

"Awesome. Well, later!" She sped out the door, leaving a brief rainbow trail in her wake.

"I've gotta go, too!" Pinkie skipped towards the door, "Now that I have _three_ parties to plan, I need to get started as soon as possible!"

"Two parties?" I was afraid to ask, but more afraid to not know.

She giggled, and started counting on her hooves. "Yep. One to welcome you to Ponyville, and one for you saving Fluttershy, and one Fluttershy get-well party! Bye!" And with that she was gone.

How had she managed to balance like that?

Rarity and Applejack were the only ones in the room with us now. There was a moment of silence, and then Rarity piped up, "Well, I'm glad this awful thing is over."

"That's fer sure." Applejack agreed.

"So, Chaser, dear," Rarity fluttered her eyes at me and smiled, "Are you still free tomorrow evening?"

"What's tomorrow evening?" Applejack cocked an eyebrow our way.

"Huh?" I had totally forgotten; had I agreed to something? Rarity had been mentioning something about men's fashion, I think, just before Fluttershy had screamed from the woods.

"Why, Chaser here has graciously agreed to help me design some absolutely cutting-edge haute couture stallion-wear tomorrow! I'm simply _dying_to try my hand at something other than a dress for a change." She giggled like a schoolfilly, and did a half-twirl, her hair sparkling in the moonlight coming through the window as it bounced.

"Oh," Fluttershy said, "That sounds lovely, Rarity!"

"Yes, it's going to be so much fun, don't you think? See you tomorrow, Chaser." She blew me a kiss on the way out the door. "Ta-ta, girls! Feel better, Fluttershy. Oh, and don't rush yourself; I've already called and postponed our spa day until you're back on your feet. Good night!"

Now I remembered. "Oh, right. Yeah. Hot... culture... stallion-wear." Had I actually agreed to that?

Applejack cleared her throat. "Well, that's all well and good. Have fun with that. I've got to get home, though. I've gotta start in on chores extra early to make up fer what I didn't finish today." She cocked a relaxed half-smile Fluttershy's way.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked extremely upset. "Oh, Applejack! I'm sorry I got in the way of your chores," she apologized.

"Oh, don't you worry, none, darlin'. I was glad to get away fer a few hours, even if it was because we thought you were in mortal danger. You just rest up." She turned to me and tipped her hat. "Well, it sure was nice to meet ya. G'night, Chaser." She headed for the door.

"Goodnight." I turned back towards Fluttershy, but then a thought occurred to me, and I turned back to the doorway. "Oh, hey. Before you go, do either of you know where there's a place I could rent a room for the night?"

Applejack spun around so fast I thought her hat was going to fly off. "What was that?"

"Um, I said I wanted to know if-"

"Oh, I heard ya," she trotted over to me as she spoke. "And you ain't payin' fer a room tonight, sugarcube. Not after all you've done."

I took a nervous step back. "I-I'm not?" She looked a little angry.

She put a hoof on the side table next to the bed and sighed lightly. "No." She grinned. "Yer comin with me tonight. We got spare rooms a'plenty up at Sweet Apple Acres."

"I am?"

"Sure are. It's the least I can do."

"Oh, no. I couldn't-"

"Yes, ya can. It's easy. Ya just say, 'yes.'"

I shot a glance at Fluttershy. She smiled at me, and nodded. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Applejack."

"Well, see? Fluttershy likes the idea. So, ya comin'?"

"Er, well..." Free room and board did seem nice, but I didn't feel like I'd earned anything by my actions; after all, I'd only _saved_ Fluttershy because she'd run away from me in the first place. Why didn't anyone get that? Still, I didn't want to upset her, and she seemed taken with the idea, and her friend seemed sincere. I supposed I could accept a little thanks, even if it wasn't deserved, if it would make my new friends a little happier.

I couldn't ever remember being someone who made people happier.

"Yeah, sure, Applejack. I'd like that."

"Well, that settles it." She turned back around and headed out the door. "I'll be waitin' outside!"

After she left, I looked over to see Fluttershy smiling at me, a wreath of tiny animals framing her head. "I guess your friends like me."

"Why wouldn't they?" She asked as she sat up.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess I'm just not used to being... likeable."

Fluttershy frowned. "I don't think that's true... I mean, it shouldn't be."

I sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "It's true. I'm _used_ to being, you know." I pointed to my cloak.

"Oh," she responded, "Well... I don't think that should have so much to do with whether you're likeable..."

"Well, in my experience, it's probably best not to go telling anypony just yet." I sighed as I stood up from the bed. "Still, if there ever was a pony I was actually glad knew about it," I couldn't help but smile just a little, "I think it would be you, Fluttershy."

She blushed. "Oh, w-well... I just... Thank you."

I might have been blushing a little, too, as I headed for the door. "You're welcome... Uh, get some rest, okay?"

The last thing I heard from Fluttershy's room was a chorus of birdsong, singing a lullaby softly.


	7. The End of a Long Day

As I stepped out of the hospital, the chilly night air made my cheeks burn that much hotter. I didn't notice Applejack waiting for me next to the hospital sign until she cleared her throat. The noise startled me, and I jumped, looking around quickly until I saw her.

"Pinkie was right," She chuckled, "You do jump somethin' quick."

My cheeks were no longer an issue; my whole face had gone red. "It's, uh, one of my better traits," I mumbled.

"Well, jump on over this a ways, Chaser." She started down the path, and I quickly fell in step beside her. We walked in silence for a few minutes, and then she turned to me and said, "So, what's your story?"

"Huh? Oh, um... Wha-what d'you want to know?"

She smirked at me. "Anything you reckon's important. I got no problem lettin' you stay at the farm, but it'd sure be nice to know who I'm bringin' home tonight, don't you think?"

I laughed a little nervously. "Right! Right. Of course, that's totally reasonable." If only she knew...

"You okay, there, Sugarcube?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Fine. Just, uh, tired." I cleared my throat, and tried to think of how to explain myself without giving away... well, everything. "My story, huh? Well, uh, what did Rarity and Pinkie Pie tell you?"

She looked up, thinking. "Not much. They said you was a pony from outta town, and you came in on the train this mornin'. I think we coulda figured that much out anyways, though."

"Probably."

"So," she looked at me, "Where you comin' from?"

Normally, I don't like answering personal questions, but for some reason, Applejack's queries put me more at ease than on edge. I answered softly, "I-I came from Snowfall. It's a village up in the mountains."

"I know it," she nodded, "My second cousin, Honey Crisp, lives up there."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, "I know Honey. She's a, uh, really nice mare. Good with a shovel, and quick with a warm cup of snow cider when it's cold. Which," I added, "is most of the time."

"Yep. That's Honey for you. Which reminds me, I gotta send her a letter sometime. Granny Smith keeps wantin' to know how she's been doin' up there, and see if she can send some of that snowapplesauce she makes..." She grinned, and looked at me again. "Aw, shucks. Here I am jawin' on about my family, and I was askin' about you!" She chuckled. "So what about your family?"

"It's just my parents. My father, Crash Course, teaches Creature Studies at the university in town."

"An' your momma?"

"She's a part-time journalist. She used to travel all over to get the latest scoop or the biggest headline, but nowadays she more or less does interviews and fluff pieces." I paused, looking around at the shops in the market district as we passed through. It was quieter, and much emptier, without all the stalls and carts filling the space. Applejack watched me, but said nothing, waiting for me to continue after we passed the square. When I didn't, she tried prompting me again.

"So why'd you come here to Ponyville?"

I took a moment to respond. "I'm... trying to find something..."

She eyed me for a few moments, started to say something, then stopped. I watched the wheels turning in her head, and she finally looked up at the starry sky, and replied, "I know how that is. I left home once, too, when I was a filly."

I looked up at her, surprised. "You... did?"

She nodded. "Yup. Tryin' to find somethin'. Thought I'd be a fancy big city pony. Turned out what I was really lookin' for was right in front of me the whole time. I just needed to leave home to figure out how much I loved it." She looked down the road, lost in memory, then turned back to me. "What're you tryin' to find, Chaser?"

"Me? Uh, w-well... I'm... just looking for my place, I guess." And my cutie mark. I sighed, and let my gaze fall to the ground as we walked.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Uh, no. Not right now." I could see she was concerned, so I added, "Maybe later, though. When I've had some rest."

Her expression smoothed into a smile, and she nodded. "Fair enough. It has been a long one, hasn't it? Well, The farm isn't far now. That's the edge of town up yonder." She pointed, and sure enough, the road exchanged buildings for landscape only a few yards from us. "Shouldn't be more'n ten minutes or so."

"So, um, you live on the farm with your parents?"

Her wince was almost lost in the darkness. Almost. "No, just Granny Smith, and my brother and sister. I'll introduce you in the mornin'. They're all likely asleep by now."

As if to confirm the lateness of the hour, I yawned as I answered, "I don't blame them. I think everyone in town is, except us."

We shared the silence for a while after that. At first, it was nice, but as we walked, I started to think about everything that had happened today, and tried to think of ways to make up for the mess I'd gotten Fluttershy into, and how to deal with the rumors that would surely circulate about me tomorrow. I was so wrapped up in my head, I almost missed the large arched sign appearing suddenly to one side of the path.

"Here we are." She turned, and I followed silently. As we crossed under the large sign over the path, Applejack announced, "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres."

It certainly was sweet; the delicious scent of apples hung heavy in the air as we entered, and it made me realize how long it had been since I'd eaten. The grumbling in my stomach alerted Applejack to the same fact. She looked around at the apple trees, said, "Hold on to your stomach, Partner," and ran over towards a nearby cart. The cart was loaded with barrels, and she grabbed one quickly, looping back around to slide it under a tree. She turned and raised her back legs, facing away from the thick trunk. Her legs hung in the air for a moment, then slammed into the trunk of the tree with a loud thump. The whole tree shook violently, and then the apples began to fall. Applejack stepped away and watched as, almost like magic, every apple I could see came falling out of the tree, bouncing off branches to land in the single barrel effortlessly. After it was done, she turned back to me, smiling. "Go ahead." She gestured towards the now-filled barrel.

I approached cautiously, eyeing the barrel of apples. It's not that I was afraid or anything. I just wasn't used to feeling so readily accepted, and it felt a little odd, like with Pinkie's baked goods this morning. She nodded towards them and said, "It's alright. We got plenty."

I reached out and took one of the apples off the top of the barrel. I took a slow bite. It was fantastic; sweet, crisp, and juicy. Before I knew it, I had finished the entire apple, and had grabbed a second without thinking. Applejack sat down to one side of the barrel and began munching on them with me, and before long, the barrel was down a dozen apples, and I was comfortably full. I lay down in the cool grass and looked up at the stars...

Applejack was above me suddenly, gently shaking me by the shoulder. "Woah, now, Chaser. Your room's _inside_. C'mon." I felt very heavy and sluggish as she grabbed my forelegs and helped me up.

"Uhn... How long was I out?"

"Oh, not more than a minute or two. You'll be out again soon, no worries." She started walking towards the large farmhouse up the hill. "Door's over here."

I sleepily followed her, yawning loudly as we trekked the short distance up to the house. Applejack led me around the side to the door, and led me into a large kitchen. "Just up the stairs, now, Sugarcube. That's it." I decided I didn't want to bother with steps, so I used my wings and lazily flapped my way to meet her on the upper floor. I landed softly, the cobwebs in my tired mind finally beginning to clear.

"Okay," she half-whispered, "now the guest bed is that door on the left, at the end of the hall." She pointed to the door, and then to several others. "That one is Big Macintosh, my brother. That's Apple Bloom's room- she's my little sister. And that one's mine. Granny Smith sleeps downstairs, on account of her hip always gives her a mite bit of trouble with stairs."

She walked me to the door of my room, opening it without ceremony, and turned on the light. Inside, I saw simple country decor, a comfortable-looking bed piled with fluffy blankets, and a single dresser and side table. It was sparse, but homey. "Here you go, Chaser. She's all yours."

"Um, thanks. You really didn't have to do this. I could rent a room, I have money..." At that moment, I realized something I should have noticed hours ago- I didn't have my bag. "Oh, frost!"

"What is it, dumplin'?"

"My bag!" I thought back to the last time I had seen it, my eyes frantically searching for what could not possibly be here. My pulse had shot up, and I started feeling like someone was sucking the air out of the room... "I... I think I left it at the bakery this morning!"

Applejack put her hooves on either side of my withers, and looked me in the eyes gently as she spoke. "Chaser. It's okay. Ponies leave stuff behind at Sugarcube Corner so often, they have a whole room for lost and found in the back. We'll just go down and get it in the mornin'. Ok?"

I tried to calm down and breathe, but it wasn't easy. Everything I owned was in that bag. "Yeah. O-ok. Sorry. I just... how did I not notice until now?"

"I expect it has somethin' to do with you fightin' timberwolves and trompin' through the Everfree forest with Fluttershy all day. I'd forget somethin' like that, too. Honestly, don't worry your head about it. I'm sure it's fine. Just try and get some rest, alright?"

I nodded, feeling my blood pressure slowly returning to normal. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll try and rest. I'm sorry."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Darlin', you apologize almost as much as Fluttershy." She turned and headed out the door, towards her own room. "I'll be up early for mornin' chores, so if you don't see me, I'll be out in the barn or the orchard somewhere. G'night." I heard her door quietly open and close, and then I was alone.

I sighed, and prepared for bed. After making sure the door had a lock on it, I removed my cloak for the second time today, folding it neatly and placing it on top of the night stand so I wouldn't forget to grab it when I got up. I turned off the light, and walked over to the bed. Pulling back the blankets, I slid into bed as quickly as I could. I closed my eyes, and tried to put this whole day to rest, at last.

I couldn't sleep.

I tossed and turned for a half hour or so. Then, I tried counting sheep. I counted to 175 before giving up. I tossed the blankets off, and got up out of the bed. It was too bad- it really was cozy.

I paced for a few minutes, too exhausted to sleep. My mind was abuzz with everything that had happened to me today. I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic all of a sudden, so i went over to the window on the far wall and opened it.

The window was one of those old farmhouse-style lifting types, unsurprisingly, but it was well-made and oiled, so it slid up almost noiselessly. Just like the doors, I mused. They took good care of this old house.

The cold air carried the apple smell with it as I poked my head out to glance at the countryside. Above the treetops, the stars twinkled brightly in the night sky.

I looked out at the stars for a while, and tried to empty my head of all my busy thoughts. One thought in particular took over my attention, and I found myself back in the Everfree forest, by the fire with Fluttershy. The shining lights above reminded me of her reaction when I told her about being a blank flank. I remembered her tears, how they had twinkled in the firelight, as the stars did now in the darkness.

No pony had ever cried for me before.

It didn't make sense. I had sent her into harm's way, and almost gotten her killed. And yet, she had cried for me. Tears of real kindness and heartache. I'd seen it in her eyes. I had thought I was prepared for any reaction from ponies about my defect- disgust, confusion, revulsion, pity, indifference. But compassion? Empathy? I suppose... I hadn't prepared for everything. Maybe... Maybe things would be more different from home than I had thought, here in cheery Ponyville. Maybe there was enough cheer for a lone, broken pony to have some, too.

For the first time since I had left home, I felt something stir inside of me. Something I had not felt in many years. It was so foreign that, at first, I didn't recognize the feeling, but as It reached out to me from the days of my youth, I clung to it like a lifeline.

As I gently lowered the window closed, I smiled. I turned back to the bed, and quietly walked back to lay down again. The feeling wrapped me tighter than the soft downy blankets I slid over me, warming me like a blazing fire in the midst of a long winter.

Hope.

I drifted off to sleep a few minutes later. My last waking thought was of tears, twinkling in firelight like stars.


	8. Confessions and Crusades

_I__floated__through__the__inky__blackness__, __blind__and__disoriented__. __My__wings__flapped__wildly__, __pushing__in__every__direction__, __searching__for__some__way__to__tell__up__from__down__. __I__called__out__for__help__, __but__the__darkness__seemed__to__swallow__my__voice__, __and__no__pony__answered__. __I__couldn__'__t__remember__how__long__I__had__been__here__, __but__I__knew__I__had__always__been__alone__. __Still__, __I__couldn__'__t__help__but__cry__for__somepony__, __anypony__, __hoping__against__hope__that__my__cry__would__be__answered__._

_As__I__flew__/__swam__through__the__dark__, __I__began__to__wonder__why__I__bothered__pushing__onwards__at__all__. __For__all__I__knew__ , __I__was__going__in__the__wrong__direction__, __falling__deeper__into__the__lonely__void__, __but__on__the__other__hoof__, __who__knew__if__there__was__a__right__direction__at__all__?_

_I__had__no__way__of__telling__how__long__I__pushed__on__- __an__hour__, __a__year__- __but__it__didn__'__t__matter__. __Nothing__changed__. __Nothing__ever__changed__. __I__decided__that__I__had__had__enough__of__fighting__my__way__from__the__dark__. __I__stopped__pushing__, __and__felt__myself__slowing__down__as__the__blackness__closed__in__. __I__felt__it__reaching__for__me__, __enveloping__me__, __and__I__felt__the__cold__emptiness__seep__into__my__form__. __It__wasn__'__t__comforting__, __but__there__was__solace__in__giving__up__. __At__least__I__wouldn__'__t__have__to__fight__anymore__..._

"_NO__!"_

_I__startled__into__moving__, __my__legs__flaying__, __my__wings__shaking__, __pushing__the__darkness__away__from__me__roughly__. __I__didn__'__t__know__who__had__screamed__, __only__that__I__recognized__the__voice__from__somewhere__. __It__screamed__again__._

"_NO__! __NO__NO__NO__!"_

_Each__syllable__of__refusal__pumped__strength__into__my__body__, __and__I__pushed__ahead__, __unsure__of__what__lay__before__me__, __but__unwilling__to__give__in__again__. __The__voice__compelled__me__, __and__though__it__did__not__change__, __the__word__it__spoke__did__._

"_GO__! __GO__! __GO__GO__GO__!"_

_I__felt__the__darkness__pulling__away__. __Though__I__still__couldn__'__t__see__anything__ahead__, __the__void__around__me__grew__lighter__with__each__push__, __each__flap__, __each__resounding__of__the__voice__._

_Suddenly__, __I__broke__through__a__barrier__I__couldn__'__t__see__, __and__swirled__around__wildly__as__gravity__took__hold__, __and__I__plummeted__through__a__brilliant__blue__sky__. __I__found__myself__spiraling__through__the__air__, __falling__to__the__ground__at__breakneck__speed__. __My__wings__no__longer__seemed__to__be__responding__. __I__turned__to__see__blood__dripping__from__my__left__wing__, __as__it__bent__at__an__odd__angle__, __limp__and__useless__. __I__attempted__to__correct__my__spin__, __but__my__good__wing__wasn__'__t__enough__to__level__out__completely__. __I__tried__to__get__a__view__of__where__I__was__, __so__I__at__least__knew__where__I__was__going__to__land__before__I__was__flattened__on__impact__. __I__flipped__my__wing__to__spin__me__over__, __so__I__was__corkscrewing__with__my__face__towards__the__rapidly__approaching__ground__. __Now__I__could__see__where__I__would__make__my__last__landing__. __I__gasped__as__I__saw__a__sweeping__forest__below__me__, __dark__and__thick__. __The__Everfree__Forest__._

_I__uselessly__put__my__forelegs__out__in__front__of__me__to__brace__against__the__impact__, __and__could__only__watch__as__the__treetops__loomed__ever__larger__. __I__thought__I__saw__a__flash__of__gold__and__pink__below__me__through__a__gap__in__the__trees__, __and__then__I__hit__the__canopy__, __and__saw__nothing__but__stars__..._

"Ow!" I hit the floor of the guest room hard, smacking nose first into the wooden surface. It stung terribly, and I tried to stand, but my left wing was tangled in the blankets, and I stumbled over clumsily, knocking into the side table loudly as I tumbled to the ground in a blanket-covered heap.

The room was absolutely still for a three count, and then I lifted my head, and the pillow that had fallen on top of me slid off. It was morning, and a beam of brilliant sunlight sliced through the air, landing right where my pillow, and my head, had been resting just moments before.

I began to untangle myself from the mess of blankets. "Well, this is a fine start to day two here in Ponyville, isn't it?" I asked myself as I shook the blanket off my back legs and flank. "Good thing Applejack is already out doing chores, or she might have come in to check out the noise, and then you'd have to explain your blank flank to _another_-"

I froze. The door was open. When had it opened? How had I not heard it? I turned to face the doorway, and felt a chill run down my spine.

There was a filly in the room. Yellow, with bright red mane, tied up in a large bow, she stood just inside the doorway, staring at me. It was then that I remembered, to my horror, that Applejack had mentioned she had a little sister. This must have been Apple Bloom.

She was looking at me, right at my flank, her jaw open in shock.

"Uh, hi there!" She didn't even breathe in response. "This i-isn't what it looks like..." I started to say, but she was already running out the door like there was a fire-breathing dragon on her tail. I started to chase after her, but being tangled in a mess of blankets makes that a little difficult. I wrenched myself from the mass, and started after her, but turned around almost immediately when I remembered I was still exposed, and cursed as I searched around to find my cloak. It had fallen off the side table when I knocked into it, and I frantically shoved the table aside to retrieve it from behind. I hastily donned my covering, half-galloping as I slid my wings into their holes and tried not to fall over the blankets in the middle of the room. "W-wait!"

I slid out of the room, and bounded down the steps after Apple Bloom. She had a good head start, and I didn't know the layout of the farm, so my chances of intercepting her were already slim, and getting smaller by the moment. I decided to head out the way I came in last night, from the kitchen. I galloped off towards the door, praying to the princess she'd gone out the same way.

Luck and Luna were on my side today. As I slid into the kitchen, I saw a bobbing red tail racing out the closing kitchen door. I also saw an old mare at the sink, whistling while she was washing something, but I had neither the time or desire to find out what, and I rushed out the door before she had time to even notice I was there.

The farm was as bright and colorful as I had suspected last night. The warm spring sun made the many-hued apples sparkle, and the trees spread out in all directions, with the town in the distance to the northeast. I barely noticed. Apple Bloom was making a break for the orchard, heading due west as fast as her little legs would carry her.

My legs weren't so little, but I wasn't going to need them to catch her today. I rocketed into the sky, my wings billowing out and shoving me forward as I went up. I gained on her quickly enough, and soon was directly over her head. She looked up, and screamed, pushing ahead with an extra boost of speed.

"Apple Bloom, stop!" I yelled, "I'm not going to-"

CraSH! Crunch-Thack-Thunk! I hadn't been paying attention to the apple trees, and I ended up hitting one headfirst, barreling through some smaller branches before colliding roughly with the trunk. Apple Bloom ran on, not looking back, as I rolled and fell, knocking apples astray as I bounced from branch to branch. After far too long, I finally hit the ground, and tumbled onto my stomach. Three apples proceeded to fall onto my head in rapid succession, and the last thing I saw was Apple Bloom's hooves disappearing into the trees...

"-don't make a habit of this. Come on, now." The voice faded in slowly over the ringing in my ears. I opened my eyes, painfully, to see Applejack staring at me, upside down. There was something cold on my head- an ice pack- which she was nursing over the large bump growing where I had run into the tree. She smiled when our eyes met. "That's it, Sugarcube! You okay? You got a right fine knock there, chasin' my silly filly sister into a tree."

"Uhn..." I grunted. My head was pounding. I took the ice pack from Applejack and sat up, while she braced me with her forelegs so I didn't fall over. I glanced at her, and started trembling.

"You know, usually I use my hooves to get the apples out of the trees, not my head."

I only faintly heard her words. My memory had come rushing back as I sat up, and I could feel the cold sweat beading on my forehead. Apple Bloom had surely told her what she had seen. Applejack had to know now, that I was a blank-flanked freak.

"I have to apologize, Chaser." She looked at me with frustration. "This whole mix-up is my fault."

I tried to speak, to correct her, but shame was clogging my throat. Here it came...

"I was in such a rush to get started on chores this mornin', I forgot to let anypony else know you was here. Apple Bloom told me you were a thief, climbin' in the window to look for valuables. That's why she dashed out so quick to get me. Can you believe it?" She chuckled.

I looked at her nervously, confused, waiting for the hammer to fall. Apple Bloom had seen my blank flank, hadn't she? She would have told Applejack, I was sure of it. I backed up a half step, bracing myself...

"I explained everythin' to her, of course. She's inside, now, havin' breakfast. C'mon, I'll help you inside, and you can join us. I could use a little break anyhow."

"What?" I choked. Those weren't at all the words I was expecting. "B-but... She didn't... You aren't... I'm not...?" Wasn't she going to say anything?

"Not what?" She looked at me slyly. "Hungry? Horsefeathers. I saw you eatin' those apples last night. I know what kind of appetite you got there." She met my eyes, and I saw something in her gaze... sadness? She sighed. "We can talk more after we eat."

"So, sh-she didn't-?" I stammered after several seconds of staring.

"She did," She replied nonchalantly as she turned towards the nearby path, "and I had to make her promise not to say anythin' else until I talked to you about it. And I will, _after__breakfast_." She said nothing more as she walked towards the house, too casually.

"Wha- but, I don't... Don't you...?"

"Breakfast first, Sugarcube."

She wouldn't say anything else, so I gave up my sputtered objections, and followed glumly. I might as well enjoy my last meal in town, after all.

The next half-hour was a blur. Breakfast was a family affair, and I was introduced to the other members of Applejack's household before sitting down to eat. Granny Smith was an older mare, but she had spunk I would have appreciated more had I not been staring into the eyes of the proverbial Reaper. Big Macintosh, who certainly lived up to his title, didn't say much. He seemed the type who only used words when he needed to. In truth, I barely remembered much of the conversation. I was too busy trying to word my apology to Applejack afterwards.

Not that there was much talking, besides Granny and Applejack. I heard snippets through the haze of my dread; Applejack mentioned something about the western orchard to Big Mac, who responded with only a stoic "Eeyup." Granny Smith asked me some questions. I think I answered them.

Apple Bloom barely said a word. She wouldn't stop staring at me like I was some kind of creature from another world. Applejack finally had to excuse her from the table early, and she bounded out the door, yelling something about a clubhouse and disappearing before anyone had a chance to argue.

I excused myself as soon as Apple Bloom had left. I had nothing to pack upstairs, so I merely went outside and waited for Applejack to come out and give me what for. I was sure she was just giving me more time to think about my deception, and let the guilt break me. It was working.

Finally, the door from the kitchen opened, and Applejack came out, smiling almost as if nothing was about to happen. "Well, that was some good chow!" I nodded robotically; it had all tasted like ash in my mouth, and I hadn't been able to stomach much anyway. "C'mon," she waved me over, "I need some help in the barn. We'll talk there."

We walked quietly, the silence cutting with every step. I looked around at the farm as we went, and back at the town of Ponyville in the distance. It had held so much promise yesterday, and last night, in the starlight. And Fluttershy...

Applejack held the barn door open, and I marched inside, to the center of the floor, and turned around to face her. "Applejack," I began, hoping she'd give me time to talk before asking me to go. "I can explain. You see-"

"You don't have to explain a thing, darlin'. I understand." She leaned a hoof against a railing, and tipped her hat to reflect the beams of sun shooting through the tiny slits between the boards of the barn wall away from her eyes. "What you said last night makes a lot more sense, now."

"I just... I didn't..." I felt my knees about to give under me from the weight of my burden. My eyes began to cloud, but I spoke as clearly as I could. "I didn't want anypony to judge me before they got to know me. I just wanted a chance to be accepted. I'm sorry I hid the truth from everyone. I'll go, now, don't worry." I started towards the door.

Applejack stepped in front of me and held up a hoof. "Hold up now, Chaser. Who's askin' you to go?"

I stopped. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't bring you in here to ask you to go. I brought you in here to help me before we head into town to get your bag."

"You... You don't want me to leave?" I backed up, utterly bewildered by her response.

She sighed, and shook her head. "Chaser, you said last night that you were lookin' for somethin'. You said you were tryin' to find your place. That's true enough, isn't it?" I nodded, fighting back tears. "Well, then," she continued, "Why would you leave when you've just started lookin'?"

"Wha-" I sniffed," What do you mean? I'm a... a blank flank."

"So's Apple Bloom," she said matter-of-factly, "What about it?"

"But... she's just a filly. She doesn't have to have found her talent yet."

"And who made the rules sayin' you have to? Just 'cause you're older doesn't mean you're any diff'rent than her, or any other pony."

"But..." I didn't know how to respond to that. I'd always known I was wrong for being a blank flank. "I'm supposed to have my cutie mark by now."

Applejack sighed again, and walked over to me. "Sugarcube, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Apple Bloom when she brought it up to me the first time." She put a sisterly leg around my neck, and I sat down without thinking, to give her a better position. "You'll get your cutie mark. Every pony gets one eventually." She let me go, and marched towards the back of the barn, rummaging through some tools stacked against the wall. "I'm also gonna tell you somethin' I _didn__'__t_ tell her, on account of I think you'll get it better." She picked up a pushbroom, and leaned on it as she turned back to face me. "Even if you don't get it, that's okay. A cutie mark doesn't make a pony who they are."

I was stunned. She was obviously mad. I had never heard anything like this from anypony. No pony had ever tried to tell me my cutie mark didn't matter. Not even my parents.

"..."

"Chaser? Your ears hearin' what my mouth is sayin'?"

"Uh... yeah. I'm hearin'- er, hearing, what you're saying." I looked away. "I'm not sure I believe it, though."

"You got any proof says otherwise?" She smirked.

Something inside broke open and bubbled to the surface. "Yeah, I do. How about a life of rejection and exclusion?" I yelled, suddenly very angry, "How about a thousand stares and whispered comments behind my back? How about the silence that follows whenever I enter a room or building? Is that proof enough, Applejack?"

I found myself standing inches from her, breathing heavily. I took a stumbling step back. I didn't remember moving. I hadn't... I hadn't realized I was so angry about it. I backed away, then turned and trotted to the other side of the barn. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I swayed uneasily, then slumped against the barn wall, dejected. "I don't know what..." I was going to be sick. I could feel the darkness grabbing for me, as it did in the dream, but this time I didn't have the strength to even try and fight.

I felt a hoof on my back, and turned to see Applejack behind me, a soft look on her face. "Chaser, it's ok." The darkness ebbed as she looked me in the eyes and said, "You had it rough all these years. Real rough. I get it. But you came here for a second chance, right? A fresh start?"

I took a long moment to respond. "... Yes."

"Well, I'm offerin' you that chance, right here and now, in Ponyville, and on my farm. I promise you, if there's a place to find out who you are, and what you're worth, it's here. And any pony so much as looks at you funny, they'll be answerin' to me and my friends about it." She took the hoof off my back, and held it out to me.

"You... You really mean it?" This was all too much, too fast. The room was spinning.

"Chaser, you're talkin' to the Element of Honesty. When I say somethin', I mean it."

I sat there, in that moment, looking at Applejack, looking into myself. There it was again, poking its head up through all the muck and mire in my heart, through all the despair and loneliness- hope. It looked at me and nodded, and for that moment, I believed. That was all it took to reach out and grab Applejack's outstretched hoof, and stand back up.

"I... I trust you."

Applejack smiled. "That's it, Sugarcube!"

I nodded. "So," I sniffed again, "What now? W-where do I start?"

"Well... You can start by helpin' me clean up this floor for the party Pinkie wants to throw tomorrow." She handed me the broom she was still carrying.

"I..." I looked at the broom in my hooves. Could I really have my second chance, after all? I wouldn't know until I tried. "Okay. Yeah. I can do that." I smiled weakly, and Applejack responded with a nod and a grin.

"I know you can! That's why I asked you to help." She cantered back to grab the other broom from its home, and then back over to me. "Now, if we sweep it all into a pile on this side..."

We swept the barn floor in relative silence. With the two of us working together, it only took about twenty minutes. It was strangely therapeutic. Maybe it was the repetition, or the sound of the brooms, or maybe it was Applejack's words to me, which still hung in the air like the sweet scent of the apples outside. Whatever it was, by the end of it, I felt okay again.

"There ain't nothin' like a job well done." Applejack looked pleased as she wiped her brow, and replaced the brooms in their spot. "Well, Chaser, thank you kindly for helpin' out there."

"You're, uh, welcome. It wasn't anything special."

"Any help is special. Now, it's my turn."

"Your turn to what?"

"Help you, of course!" She opened the barn door again, and we exited back into the bright sunlit grounds.

"Help me... how?"

"Well," she began, "First, we're gonna-"

"There he is!" a voice from behind some bushes whispered a bit too loudly.

"Shh!" another hissed, "They'll hear us!"

I looked at Applejack, who made an annoyed face, and turned to the bushes. "We already have, girls! Now, c'mon out of there."

Slowly, three fillies emerged from their hiding place. Apple Bloom lead the pack, with a tiny unicorn and pegasus in tow. They all looked like they had been caught with their hooves in the cookie jar.

Applejack waited until they had all stopped in front of her before she spoke again. "Girls, what are you doin'?" They all muttered incoherent excuses, none of which sounded very convincing. Applejack turned to her sister. "Are you three spyin' on Chaser?"

"No!" Apple Bloom responded, "We were just... um, see, what we were doin' is..."

"Apple Bloom! You told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about Chaser, didn't you? I told you not to say anythin' until we'd talked."

Apple Bloom's eyes went wide, and filled with tears, her mouth turning into a pitiful pout. "I didn't mean to, big sis, I swear!" Her tiny, twangy voice professed, "It just slipped out on accident! I tried really hard not to!"

Applejack began to chastise her sister, but I put a hoof up and stepped forward. "It's okay." All eyes swiveled towards me. "I'm used to this."

"No, it's not okay. You came here to avoid this sorta thing, didn't you?"

"I did. But I'd be foolish not to expect it." I turned to the fillies in front of me. They were all wearing identical red capes, with blue shields sewn on, each containing a golden pony inside. They were actually kind of impressive, in a look-mom-we-made-them-ourselves sort of way. I bent down so I was eye level with the three of them, and tried to smile. "Hi, there."

"Hiya!" squeaked the little unicorn, before the other two glanced at her, and she fell silent.

Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Uh, hi, again. Sorry about, you know, this mornin'."

"It's okay. I would have probably done the same thing."

"How's your head?" she asked as she kicked the dirt and tried not to look at me.

"It's a little sore, but I'll be fine."

"Are you really a blank flank?" The pegasus piped up suddenly.

My face flushed. "I...Uh..." That hadn't taken long.

"That's none of your beeswax, girls-"

"No, it's okay. I-" I swallowed- "I gotta... start sometime, right?" I turned to my side and, sighing heavily, did the hardest thing I'd done since I got to Ponyville.

I lifted my cloak.

The girls gasped in unison, but stopped quickly when Applejack gave them a death glare.

I explained, "I came here because I'm all alone at home, because I still don't have my cutie mark. I thought that if I went somewhere where no pony knew me, I could have a chance at finding it, or at least not feel so bad about not having one."

They didn't say anything for a long while. They just kept looking at me, and back at each other, and back at me again. Applejack finally cleared her throat, loudly, and the girls jumped. "Girls," she said, "Do you wanna say anything to mister Chaser?"

"Uh..." Apple Bloom faltered.

"Um, it's just-" I started to say.

"We don't have cutie marks, either!" the little unicorn proclaimed suddenly, squeaking again, "See?" She lifted her cape, and revealed her blank flank, wiggling humorously for effect.

"Oh, no?"

"Nope!" said the pegasus, buzzing her wings, "But we're gonna find 'em, 'cause we're-" she assumed a striking pose, and so did the unicorn- "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom didn't move, or speak, when the others did. Instead, she looked down, at the ground. I'd seen this look before.

"Don't worry," I said, "I'm the only pony I know like me. You'll all find your talents, and earn your cutie mark soon, I bet."

She looked up slowly, her fearful gaze lightening. "I guess so... So, you're the only pony like you?"

"Well, I've never heard of any other ponies growing up without a cutie mark. Just me."

The little unicorn started blubbering almost immediately. "That's so sad, mister Chaser!"

I ran my hoof through my mane, and promptly rediscovered the bump I had almost forgotten about. I winced as I replied, "Well... I guess it is, yeah. And it's just-"

Apple Bloom suddenly leapt up, her eyes alight. "I've got it!" She looked at Applejack. "Hey, uh, big sis, can we talk to you for a sec?"

Applejack raised a suspicious eyebrow, but nodded slowly. "Alright."

The girls all stepped aside, forming a half-circle around Applejack, who listened intently as they discussed something too softly for me to make out. After several minutes of intense discussion, Applejack looked over at me, nodded, and said, "Well, you'll have to ask him how he feels about it. I'm not sure he wants ponies to know about it just yet."

The three fillies zipped back over to me, curious smiles on their faces. Apple Bloom stepped forward, and cleared her throat. "Mister Chaser, I'd like to apologize for causin' trouble for you this mornin'."

"Well, um, apology accepted, Apple Bloom. But really, just call-"

"That's not all!" she continued before I could finish. "The three of us talked it over just now, and we'd like to help you out." She looked back at the others quickly, then glanced back up at me. "Would you like... to become our first official Senior Crusader?"

I did a double-take. "I wha?"

"We'd really like it if you'd join us!" The unicorn yelped.

"Yeah, it'd be pretty cool having a grown-up to help out all the time!" The pegasus added.

"If you don't wanna, we'd understand," Apple bloom looked down, "But... as Cutie Mark Crusaders, it's our responsibility to help any and all ponies find their special talents, no matter what."

I looked over at Applejack, completely at a loss. I'd just been invited to join a filly club for blank flanks. I wasn't sure whether to be honored or humiliated, although I was sure they meant it in the former. "I, uh, don't know what to say..."

In unison, they beamed up at me, and chorused, "PLEEEEEASE?"

I was so confused. Only a few hours ago, I had been concealing my lack of talent, and now, I was being asked by these fillies to come along and shout it from the hills. On the other hoof, though... it was an oddly warming feeling, being offered inclusion, and they seemed sincere. "Um, well... I..."

Applejack stepped towards us, getting between myself and the girls. "Why don't you give Chaser some time to think about it, alright? It's a big decision, after all."

The three of them deflated a little. "Well, okay." They looked at each other and nodded.

"And don't none of you go talking about this unless he says it's alright."

"We Pinkie Promise," Apple Bloom said, and the three of them proceeded to do a funny dance and recite the words, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" and then laugh at themselves.

"Thank you, girls. Really," I choked out. I was having a bit of difficulty speaking all of a sudden. I was nearly in shock from the sudden turn of events.

Apple Bloom answered, "Uh, well... You're welcome!" She turned to the other two, said, "C'mon, girls! We gotta get things ready for the initiation ceremony!" and motioned for them to follow her as she took off. "When you decide to join, we'll be in our clubhouse!"

"Uh, right!" I called out after them. "Sure thing." I couldn't fault her confidence, at least.

We stood there watching them disappeared amongst the trees, and then Applejack turned to me and said, "So, you actually gonna do it?

"I... don't know." There was a lot I didn't know, it seemed. "This is all so odd."

"What?"

"I just... never thought it'd be like this." I sat down, trying to recollect myself.

"You _really_had it rough."

"You have no idea."

Applejack gave me a pat on the back. "Well, Sugarcube, I think you'll find that things work a little bit differently in Ponyville. Now," She started off towards the path into town, "You ready to get your bag back, or do you just wanna sit there for a while first?"

I looked around, and realized how beautiful a day it was for the first time. "I'm ready." I stood up.

"C'mon, then. Time's a wastin'."

"Um, Applejack?"

"Hmm?" She turned back to look at me, waiting.

"Could we, uh, stop by and see Fluttershy?"

For a moment, I thought I saw a smirk cross Applejack's face, but I blinked, and it was gone. "Sure thing. I think she'd like that."

"Okay." And with that, we started down the path, back into town.


	9. Bags, Books, and Bothers

I wasn't at all sure how I felt as I followed Applejack back into Ponyville that morning. I wasn't really sure how I was _supposed_ to feel. On the one hoof, I'd made several acquaintances and- I realized with more than a little shock- friends, in the single day I'd been here. On the other, I had a list of as long as my foreleg of problems I had caused for myself. In just twenty-four hours' time, I had managed to bungle an introduction badly enough to send Fluttershy hurtling into a life-threatening situation, and almost get her killed while trying to make amends; disclose my secret shame to not one, but five ponies, none of whom had responded at all as I had expected; lose my bag, which contained all of my possessions and money; and receive an invite from three fillies to join their exclusive club for ponies without talents. Thinking about it all was causing me a headache that was completely unrelated to the bump on my head.

Back in Snowfall, I had been a social outcast and pariah, but at least I had had some order in my life. Less than a day in Ponyville had thrust me into craziness I'd never dreamed of dealing with. I was beginning to wonder if I could handle this sort of thing in the long-term. I was also wondering if I'd ever actually have time to start trying to discover my talent.

The walk back to town was a short one, now that we had daylight and a good night's rest on our side, so I didn't have much time to wonder. I did have time to talk to Applejack, however.

"So... Applejack." I tried to be casual. "You said it was your turn to help me."

She grinned. "Sure as shootin'. And that's just what I intend on doin'."

"You, uh, never got to mentioning just how you plan on doing that."

She chuckled as she glanced looked down the road. "I didn't, did I? Well, what with the fillies in the bushes, I guess I lost my train of thought." She pointed off into the distance, and I followed her gaze out to a large oak tree out on the west end of town, partially visible over the houses and businesses. "See that tree?"

"Um, Yeah. Is that how you're gonna help me? With a tree?"

She laughed. "It ain't just a tree. That there's the town library."

"Okay..." I tried to make a connection, but Applejack and books didn't seem to go anywhere in my brain, except in opposite directions from each other.

"Well, Twilight's there. You met her last night at the hospital, remember?"

Twilight Sparkle? Oh, I doubted I'd be forgetting her anytime soon. She'd been the one with the dragon assistant. "Yeah," I replied curtly, "I remember."

"Well, if anypony can help you find out more about your cutie mark problem, it's her."

"Wait, what?" She wanted me to tell more ponies about it? Didn't she know how hard it was having _anypony_ know about it, let alone one whose assistant I'd tackled the night before? "C-can't we ease into sharing about that? I-I mean, three fillies, that's good progress for today, isn't it?" I was starting to sweat again, and it had nothing to do with the sun on my cloak. "B-Besides, I thought you said it wasn't a problem."

"I _said_ it doesn't make you who you are." She gave me a big-sister-knows-best look; I could tell she'd had lots of practice at it with Apple Bloom. "That don't make it less important for you, though, now does it?"

I dropped my gaze to the ground, a little ashamed by the whole conversation. "Well... no. It doesn't."

"Well, if there's any way to help you find your talent, I'll be a part of it, Sugarcube. And Twilight will, too. You can trust her, I promise."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and looked back up at Applejack. Her eyes spoke nothing except the pure integrity behind them. Besides, how could I not trust her after what had happened this morning on the farm? "Alright. We'll... talk to Twilight Sparkle about it, I guess."

Applejack smiled, and nodded, but didn't say anymore about it. The scenery around us suddenly closed in, as open field and distant tree gave way to ponies and buildings on either side of the path. We had entered Ponyville proper. "Bakery's not far. We'll have your bag back to you in no time."

"Thanks again for this, Applejack."

"Oh, no need to thank me. I'm just doin' what any good pony would do."

We trotted through the streets of the village, taking in the sights and sounds as we went. Applejack was obviously a well-known and loved member of this town, as was evidenced by the number and frequency with which she exchanged greetings with the townsponies. Many of them greeted me as well, but as we ambled by, I heard whispers and snatches of conversations, most of which I couldn't make out. What I _could_ hear made the hair on the back of my withers stand up; I was sure the words 'Fluttershy' and 'timberwolves' were uttered more than once as I passed. I shuddered slightly, remembering that I would probably have to spend a good amount of time apologizing to everypony about putting their resident animal caretaker in the hospital.

Sooner than I had expected, we arrived at Sugarcube Corner. The smells of baked treats, and the sounds of ponies enjoying company and delicious goods, could be heard from almost a block away.

Applejack led the way inside, and I followed, noting with some surprise that Pinkie Pie didn't seem to be there this morning. I decided not to say anything about it to Applejack, mostly because I didn't want to seem odd for noticing, but also because the tiny, superstitious part of me was unsure if saying her name might summon her like some sort of spirit.

Applejack walked up to the front counter, where a lanky orange earth pony stood, wiping the countertop. "Mornin' Mr. Cake! How's business?"

"Oh!" He looked up from the spot he was trying to scrub away, flashing a smile as though he had been waiting for just this greeting. "Good morning, Applejack! Business is good, in no small part thanks to those apples last week for our apple turnover cookies! Are you here for your part of the proceeds?"

"Oh, no. Not for a while, yet. I'm here for my friend, Chaser." she turned to me and motioned for me to join her at the counter. "Chaser, this is Mr. Cake. Mr. Cake, my good friend, Chaser."

Good friend? I was a good friend?

"Well, how d'you do, Chaser? Weren't you in here yesterday," he said as he eyed my cloak, "with Pinkie Pie? Yeah, and she mentioned something about you yesterday evening, I think... Something about the Everfree forest..."

"Er, yeah!" I really didn't want to talk about that right now. I was nervous enough as it was. "That was me! I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble when I was here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Trouble? I don't remember any trouble, except for Pinkie's usual antics, and those don't really qualify. In fact," he chuckled, "I think the place would be a lot less cheerful without her around to liven things up. Wonder where she is... Anyhow," he resumed scrubbing the spot on the counter, but kept his gaze levelled at me, "what can I help you with today, Chaser?"

"Uh, well, actually... I think I left something here yesterday. A bag. Small, brown, kind of worn, looks sorta like a satchel-"

"Hmm..." He scratched his chin with a thoughtful hoof for a moment. "Yep! I know the one. It's in the lost in found, in the back. Found it sitting under a table, while I was sweeping yesterday afternoon." He dropped the rag into a pocket in his apron, straightened his hat, and lifted the counter's divider, walking towards the back of the store. "I'll go and get it for you. Be back before you can say 'muffins'!"

"Did somebody say muffins?" a slightly nasal voice called from a table across the room. A cross-eyed pegasus jumped up and turned her head rather excitedly towards the counter.

Mr. Cake sighed. "No, Miss Hooves. They'll be ready in just a minute, okay?"

The pegasus sat back down, her smile fading, but not completely disappearing, as she began tapping a hoof impatiently on the table. "Oh, okay. Sorry."

Mr. Cake shook his head, laughed lightly, and started for the back again. "Be just a moment."

As we waited, I quickly scanned all the cakes, pies, cookies, and other tasty treats that sat around and behind the counter. I hadn't eaten much at breakfast; I had been too preoccupied about my imagined eviction to enjoy anything. Mr. Cake had mentioned muffins... maybe I'd get one once I had my bag back, if they looked anywhere near as good as that mare seemed think they would be.

Mr. Cake returned rather quickly, balancing my bag expertly on his head, and depositing it on the countertop for me with a smile and a flourish. "Ta-dah!"

"Oh, thank Celestia!" I said loudly, as I picked it up and slung it around my neck. "Everything I own is in this bag! Thank you so much." I felt instantly lighter, and a bubbly emotion welled up in me, making me flutter my wings absently as I adjusted the strap around my neck. A smile crossed my face, and decided to stay there for a bit.

"No trouble at all, Mr. Chaser."

"Just Chaser." I corrected quickly.

_DING__!_ A bell sounded from the other side of the room, through the doorway in the back of the store. A moment later, a blue mare with a pink, frosting-like mane emerged with a tray full of piping-hot muffins, and the smell of cinnamon filled the air over all the other goods. My mouth began watering. I would definitely be getting a muffin today.

The grey pegasus had gotten up at the bell, and was now anxiously waiting next to me at the counter, bouncing in anticipation. The frosting-haired mare set the tray down, smiled up at Mr. Cake, and said, "There you are, dear. The next batch is already in, should be about twelve minutes; I set the timer for you. I'm going to take the babies to the market to get some fresh berries for the pies this afternoon. Think you can hold down the store for a few minutes without me?"

"I think I can manage, sweetie! Enjoy the market, take your time, and remind Kettle Corn to stop by and pick up his order while you're there." They nuzzled, and she turned and walked out the door. Mr. Cake turned back to us, and the pegasus beside me, and said, "Alright, now who wants a muffin?"

I noticed Applejack eyeing them out of the corner of my eye, trying to remain casual even as she licked her lips at the sight of the scrumptious-smelling treats. I was feeling pretty good, now that I had my bag back. Fishing for my money, I flashed Applejack a grin and said, "I'll take two." Then, looking over at the salivating mare beside me, I added, "And, uh, one for her."

She turned to look at me... I think. "Really, Mister?"

I shrugged. "Sure, but I'm not a mister. Name's Chaser." I held out my free hoof as well as I could, crooking the bag in my knee to keep it open while I fished for my bitbag.

She shook it dazedly. "Um, Derpy. Derpy Hooves." She looked towards the muffins again. "Can I?" Mr. Cake merely smiled and tilted the tray towards her. She turned back to face me again and scratched her head. "I don't understand."

I smiled, feeling a warmth spreading through me as I pulled out my bag of bits at last, feeling the jingling of coin in my hoof. "Well, Derpy, there isn't much to understand. I have a reason to be happy right now. Might as well share it, right?"

I couldn't tell if her eyes were on me, but her grin sure was. "Oh, thank you!" she said as she took her now-suddenly-free muffin from Mr. Cake. She rushed forward and hugged me tightly, then went off to her table to enjoy her morning treat. "I won't forget this, Mister Chaser. I promise!"

"I-it's just Chaser!" I replied as I rubbed my forelegs sheepishly. "And it's not a big deal. It's just a muffin." I muttered, then turned to pay for the three I had just bought.

"That was real nice, what you did for Derpy there," Applejack stated as I dropped the bits into Mr. Cake's waiting hoof.

"It was nothing. Like I said," I offered one of my muffins to Applejack, and she took it graciously as I continued, "I feel good. For me, that's a rare thing. My mom always told me that good feelings last longer when shared."

"Well, thanks, Chaser. You didn't need to do that for me, either."

I shrugged again, and began munching on my muffin. It was cinnamon raisin, and it was delicious- the warm, spongy muffin; the soft juicy raisins; the perfectly spun swirls of cinnamon. I could see why Ms. Hooves had been so keen on getting one. "I know. But you helped me get my bag back, so I figured I could show a little gratitude. Besides," I paused to enjoy another bite, then continued, "I'm not the only one here with an appetite. I didn't eat all those apples last night by myself."

She laughed. "That's true enough, I reckon." She turned back to the stallion at the counter. "Well, thank you kindly, Mr. Cake. We'll be seein' you."

He waved, and then pulled out his rag to continue the never-ending battle against the spot on the counter. "You kids have a nice day."

I waved at the Derpy Hooves again on the way out, and we left the bakery, munching our muffins quietly. Applejack turned and started down the main road, and I followed at one side of her, my cares and worries settling in a distant corner of my mind for the first time in-

"Library's over here."

Oh, right. The library. Twilight Sparkle. My cutie mark.

That distant corner of my mind apparently contained a trebuchet, which launched all my fears and anxiety right back to the front in a long, sweeping arc. As they came crashing down over the castle walls of my mind, the cheery feeling I had found in the bakery disappeared, replaced almost instantly by cold dread. The thought of disclosing this information to anypony else by choice still filled me with apprehension. Would Twilight Sparkle be as accepting as Applejack had been? Would she judge me to be worth withholding judgement upon? Or would she see the blank, and be the first deliver the guilty verdict I was so fearful of? In my mind, I knew that what Applejack had told me was true, that she wouldn't lie to me about something so important- she had no reason to. In my heart, however, there still sat a dejected young colt, alone and scared as he cried in his room, who only wanted his cutie mark, so someone would place value on him at last...

My fearful musing carried me all the way to the library, which thankfully wasn't too far. Seeing it up close, it was quite different than I had imagined. Where I had expected a normal building with a large oak beside, instead I found an impressive structure, a mostly hollowed-out oak tree that still grew _around_ the building that lay within. Inside lay my most daunting task so far in Ponyville- revealing my purpose here to Fluttershy and Applejack's friend, Twilight Sparkle.

Forging ahead despite the trembling in my legs, I got to the door ahead of Applejack. I pushed it open, and it swung to one side, where I held it until she passed me. I followed her in, praying that she wasn't wrong about this.

The library was quiet, as I suppose libraries are meant to be. It was also full of books, stacked on shelves as one would expect, which ran the length of the walls of the lower story, as well as in piles and stacks spread in a seemingly random fashion around the room. In the back was a gently curved staircase leading to an upper level, and off to the left was a door, presumably concealing more books in the next room.

"Twi? You here?" Applejack called out.

"Applejack?" The voice that responded was not Twilight Sparkle, nor were the feet that appeared from the upper floor; Twilight Sparkle's 'chief assistant and scribe', Spike came bounding down the stairs, stopping at the last step as he spied me. "Waaait a minute. You're that stallion from yesterday." he said, eyeing me with suspicion.

"Uh, yeah." My face went red. "Guilty as charged."

"Uh-huh... What's going on, Applejack?" he asked her, ignoring me. "Twilight's upstairs, going over research on timberwolves. She's been at it all night, as usual." He swirled a claw around his head in a 'crazy' sign.

"Well, uh, Chaser here has got somethin' more important he needs research done for."

"Oh, yeah? Like books on dragon tackling?" I blanched, and started sputtering an apology. He waved me off with a smirk. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Seriously, no hard feelings. I'm totally over it."

I laughed, and it sounded almost like a bark. The two of them stared at me for a second before Applejack continued. "It's really kind of important. Can we go upstairs?"

"Sure," the dragon replied coolly, "I mean, I'm her assistant, not her bouncer. But you should know, getting her attention away from those books is-"

"Oh, I know, Spike. We'll take our chances. Thanks." She started up the stairs.

"Uh, thanks, Spike." I followed Applejack, bowing awkwardly towards him as we passed each other. I watched him bound over to the door in the wall and fling it open, and I caught a glimpse of more books inside. I was so focused on the strange little dragon, I forgot to watch where I was walking, and suddenly found myself stepping onto thin air as I turned more sharply than I should have. I flailed for a moment, my front hooves slipping out from under me, and I yelped, causing Applejack to turn around.

"Chaser!" She took a step towards me, and then stopped when I popped my wings open and flapped back onto the steps.

I grinned foolishly up at her as my hooves found purchase again. "Sorry... Missed a step."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes at me, then turned back around to finish climbing.

The upper floor of the library was much the same as the lower- stacked high with shelves and piles of bound text, the smell of old parchment and dried ink pervasive in the air, dusty and musty. A desk with fresh ink bottles and quills sat to one side of the stairs, and a telescope leaned by a large bay window on the far side of the floor, glistening patiently as it waited for the stars to appear that evening. The biggest difference on this floor was the bed off to one side or the room, in an alcove with a large window. It seemed Twilight Sparkle actually lived in the library.

At the moment, her back was turned to us as she studied what appeared to be the latest in a large stack of books, flipping the pages every so often as she scoured the text for information. She seemed completely oblivious to our entrance. Applejack cleared her throat as we approached. "Twi? You got a minute?"

"Hmm," she answered distractedly.

Applejack sighed. "Twi?"

"Mhmm."

Applejack slapped a hoof to her face. "Oh, crabapples. There's no talkin' to her when she gets like this." She looked around wildly. "Quick, knock somethin' over."

"Wha?"

"A book, or somethin'. Trust me. It's the only way to snap her outta this."

"O-okay..." I looked around and spotted a stack of books about two feet away. I walked forward and, after an unsure moment, pushed the top book off the tower stack gingerly. It made a stiff, papery sliding noise as it moved off the stack, and Twilight Sparkle whirled around at the sound

"Huh?!"

The book flipped over and toppled off the stack, falling as though in slow motion. It hit the ground with a loud THUK!, which echoed through the mostly empty room.

"Aah!" The unicorn jumped into the air, startled by the loud noise shattering the quiet of the library.

"Aah!" I replied, mirroring her jump, and adding a pair of wings to the motion for effect.

Applejack facehooved again, exhaling loudly.

Twilight Sparkle stood, a hoof to her chest, catching her breath after the scare. She looked around at the two of us. "Applejack? And... Chaser, was it?" she breathed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you come in. I was researching-"

"Timberwolves. We know, sugar. But we need your help with somethin' else right now."

Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow curiously. "Of course, so long as it's quick. I really need to figure out-"

Applejack turned to me as she interjected. "Chaser here has somethin' he'd like to discuss with you. Somethin' real important to him. We thought you'd be the best pony to ask."

"N-no, it's okay, Applejack, Miss Sparkle is obviously very busy w-with her studying," I said weakly, shrinking into my cloak. "We can always come back l-later!" Damned anxiety. Curse this abominable stutter!

"Nonsense, Sugarcube." She turned to Twilight Sparkle again and sighed softly. "Can you help him?"

"Well, I don't know what kind of help I can be, but I'll try." She looked over at me. "What did you need, Chaser?"

I was frozen. Sweat beaded down my forehead, and my legs felt like jelly. I had admitted I was a blank flank to five ponies already, so why was this so much harder?

Because I'd had no choice, then. Every pony I'd told before had already known, and I had just ridden the current. This time it was all on me, and swimming upstream was far more painful, and terrifying.

"Go on, Chaser. You can do this." Applejack offered, trying to encourage me.

The butterflies in my stomach were threatening to blow me open from the inside. I tried to speak, but my tongue had turned into dust in my mouth. "I..." I choked. "I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry..." I shook my head violently and started to back up, feeling my back hooves brush the top of the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Twilight Sparkle stepped closer, tilting her head to look up at me, concern in her eyes.

"Chaser?" Applejack called, echoing Twilight's approach.

I closed my eyes, and tried to breathe. My thoughts were swirling around me in a vortex of awful memories and words, jeering and laughing and insults. The room felt so small, and there didn't seem to be quite enough air. As I edged my back hooves down a step, I could almost hear the darkness beckoning me inside its inky embrace. I couldn't do it. It was too soon. She wouldn't understand. They won't understand. I'm just a mistake. A failure. I just wanted to be left alone. Applejack was wrong. This couldn't work...

"_GO__!"_

A tiny echo rang through my mind, above the storm of memories, over the calling darkness.

The whirlwind around me fell suddenly still, and the shadow rapidly slunk away to whatever black corners it had come from. My body stopped shaking, and I stepped up, off the stairs. The voice from my dream... Now I understood what it had been trying to tell me.

I drew a slow, deep breath, and swallowed. "Twilight Sparkle." I opened my eyes and slowly brought them up to meet the eyes of the mare before me. "Applejack told me that you might be able to help me... find out why I still don't have a cutie mark."

She stepped back, confused. "You don't have a cutie mark?"

"No." I shook my head, then lifted my cloak with my wings slowly. It felt like it weighed a hundred pounds as I rose it high enough to show my blank flank. "It's been my shame that I'm the only stallion I know to never find his talent." I dropped the cloak, and the heavy fabric fell back into place neatly and quietly. I focused on speaking slowly, keeping my voice steady, and my tone even, as I explained. "I've... tried to keep it a secret here in Ponyville, to avoid the exclusion and ridicule I've experienced for most of my life in Snowfall. I came here to see if, away from my home, I might find the means to discover my talent, once and for all. But, I don't really know how to do that." I glanced at Applejack, who had her hat off in a solemn, respectful stance, and she nodded at me to continue. "I've heard from some ponies that you're very good with books, and Applejack said I could trust you not to tell anypony."

Twilight Sparkle stood there, a strange look on her face, for a long pause. When she finally did move, it was merely a nod. "Well, she's right about that. You can trust me. I won't tell anypony."

"Thank you." I had gotten past the hard part, but I wasn't out of the woods yet. "Do you... know anything about cutie marks, and if there are, or have been, other ponies like me?"

There was a twinkle in her eyes, I'd swear, and then she turned her head away from me. It was like I'd flipped a switch in her mind. Immediately, she started moving towards the bookcases, scanning titles as she went. "You know, I just might. Actually, I remember several books on the topic, although most are about the philosophy and psychology behind cutie marks, and not physical acquisition. This is very fascinating. I might have something of interest, though..." She froze suddenly, and glanced over at me, a strange look in her eyes as a half-smile crossed her face. "Chaser, do you think you could help me out?"

I took a cautious half-step back. "Uh, well, I guess, yeah. What did you need? Is there a book downstairs or something?"

"Oh, no. That's why I have Spike." She laughed airily. "I meant... Well, I was looking for a few specific texts on creatures for my research into the timberwolf problem, but I don't seem to have any copies of them." She continued searching for books as she went, pulling volumes telekinetically, and either piling them in a stack, or tossing them on the floor. "If I remember correctly, you mentioned at the hospital that your father is a creature studies professor at the University in Snowfall."

"Uh, yeah."

"I believe he could shed some much needed insight into this issue. Even moreso than a text, as much as I hate to admit. Experience _is_ better than books... sometimes."

"O-okay..."

"Do you think you could write him a letter for me, and ask if he could help with my research?"

That was all? I thought she was going to ask me to get him down here to interview him about my childhood or something. "Oh, sure!" I agreed quickly, almost laughing in relief, "Yeah, my dad's really keen on that stuff. He taught me tons when I was a colt. I'm sure he'd help. I'd be glad to do that."

"Excellent. Spike can take a letter for you downstairs. He's searching for my old copy of _Malevolent__Magical__Monstrosities_, but just let him know we've got more important things to look into now..."

"Um, Twi?" Applejack stepped forward. "You know how Spike is at keeping secrets. You might want to-"

"I know, I know. I won't tell him anything he doesn't need to know. I promise," she looked across the floor to me, "your secret is safe here."

"Thank you so much." I breathed.

"My pleasure." She turned to a stack of volumes she had pulled out, flipping through them speedily to check for something inside, then throwing them each away when she didn't find it. "After you have Spike take your letter, just drop it in the post box outside."

"Right. Sure thing." I turned to Applejack, who was motioning me to the staircase, as she was already walking down them. "Uh, we'll just go now, I guess?"

"Alright. Come back this evening," she was saying as we descended the stairs, her voice muffled by a text in front of her face, "And I should have something for you."

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Spike appeared from the back room, carrying a large, leather-bound lexicon. "I found it, Twilight!"

"Spike," Applejack held out a hoof as he approached the bottom of the stairs, and Spike ground to a stop, swaying forward slightly as the heavy tome took a moment longer to stop than he did. "Twilight said we got more important things to take care of right now."

He studied Applejack with an air of disbelief. "More important than studying?"

"We need you to take a letter to Chaser's dad."

He blinked several times and gave me a look. "What in Equestria for?"

"He's a teacher up in Snowfall, and he might know somethin' about timberwolves that'd be helpful."

He looked at the book he was carrying for a moment, then at me, then Applejack. He dropped the book and ran to a desk laden with papers and quills. "Oh, so it is about studying. Well, why didn't you say so?" He rushed back over quickly and stopped in front of us. I thought about mentioning that he was standing on the book he'd just dropped. He put the quill to parchment, eyeing the paper intently. "Alright, I'm ready."

I stood there for several second before realizing that he was waiting for me to speak. "Oh, right. Sorry." I'd never dictated a letter before. "*Ahem* Uh, let's see. Dear Dad..."


	10. Unwanted Attention

We stood outside the library, in front of the mailbox. I reread the letter to make sure it sounded okay.

_Dear__Dad__,_

_How__are__you__and__mom__? __I__'__m__doing__well__. __I__'__m__staying__in__the__town__of__Ponyville__. __The__ponies__here__have__all__been__very__helpful__and__welcoming__so__far__._

_One__of__the__ponies__here__is__trying__to__figure__out__why__some__timberwolves__have__been__seen__in__the__nearby__woods__recently__; __they__live__in__the__Everfree__Forest__to__the__south__, __but__don__'__t__normally__come__this__close__to__town__. __She__is__worried__there__might__be__something__wrong__, __so__she__asked__me__if__I__could__write__to__you__for__information__on__them__. __Anything__you__think__would__be__helpful__._

_Send__a__response__to__me__at__the__Golden__Oaks__Library__, __here__in__Ponyville__._

_Will__write__you__more__soon__._

_Chaser_

I rolled up the parchment carefully and wrapped the sealing ribbon around it. I flipped open the mailbox, which had apparently not been used very often, judging by the dust and rusty hinges. Twilight Sparkle must not get mail very often. Or write letters, for that matter. I wondered why she would have a dragon scribe if she didn't write letters to people. Perhaps she only preferred to deliver them in person? I dismissed the thought, deciding I'd come back to it later. I blew out the dust inside the mailbox, doing my best not to get any in my face, and slipped the letter inside once it had cleared away. "There."

"Alright," Applejack said, nodding slightly as I wrestled with the rusted-stuck flag on the box, "now that that's done, I think we're-"

TWUNG-TUHP! CRKK-CRASH!

"What in tarnation?"

CLANG!

My head whipped around to locate the source of the noises, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Applejack doing the same. We scanned the horizon in opposite directions for a moment before she cried out, "Over there!" and pointed towards some houses to the northwest, where several ponies were already rushing to investigate. Without a word, we took off towards the disturbance.

The sound had come from behind one of the rowhouses a few blocks from us, if the growing crowd at its perimeter was any indication. I knew long before we had arrived that it would take some time to get through the huddled mass, so I opted to skip the crowd all together. I opened my wings and jumped into the air, joining several other pegasi already hovering over the scene.

The house stood at the edge of the town, near a steep embankment, which led down to train tracks after a short, but dangerous drop. The back of the house contained a small yard with a strangely bent-out fence. Well, most of a fence; a large hole had been bashed through the middle of the back fencing, several boards still hanging off the embankments' edge, threatening to drop if the connecting lateral supports gave out. Behind the house, lying on the tracks below, was a broken weathervane nestled among several busted fence beams, which had apparently fallen off of the roof. That had caused the crash, and the damage. I was more interested in the origin of the other noise I could now hear- groaning.

Sweeping around to get a better angle on the wreckage, I could see a dark-coated pegasus colt lying partly underneath the weathervane, his lower half sticking out over the tracks. Thank the Sisters, he seemed to be only stunned; the now twisted metal of the weathervane had missed piercing him, in some places by mere fractions of an inch, by the looks of it. Other ponies had begun to notice, as well, and a murmur was moving through the crowd as they spread the word to those behind. Someone needed to help him, obviously, but everypony seemed too stunned to move.

Then I heard a noise that made my blood freeze in my veins. Moments later, a scream from the crowd came forth. "Look!" All heads turned down the track. It was the train, coming just now around the corner, oblivious to the colt on the tracks. I could see the conductor, who looked at the crowd of ponies gathered at the side of the hill with confusion, before turning to spy the weathervane on the track. His face dropped into horrified shock, and he slammed back the brake lever as hard as he could.

It wasn't going to be hard enough.

I saw Applejack shove her way to the front of the crowd, and glance down at the terrified colt below. She immediately began sliding down the embankment, towards the tracks, a look of grim determination on her face as she leapt off the dirt wall of the decline, landing roughly on the track and tumbling a few feet to finally stop next to the trapped colt. I couldn't let her tackle this alone; there was no way she could lift the weathervane _and_ grab the colt from under it, before the train overtook them. I zoomed towards the weathervane as quickly as I could.

We met the foal at roughly the same time. Applejack looked up at me as she leapt to her hooves, and then down at the foal. "Rumble," she said, addressing the colt, "hold still. We'll get you outta here!"

I had to get the metal trap off the colt so Applejack could grab him. I briefly wondered as to why somepony would have a weathervane so large and complex in the first place, but the thought took a back seat to the task at hand, and I decided to inquire about it later, when lives weren't on the line. I shoved against the weathervane as hard as I could, but it wasn't enough; the goddess-awful contraption was bent into the track, and I couldn't reach the twisted metal to unhinge it from it's place. "It's stuck!" I had to yell over the hiss and screech of the approaching train.

The train whistle blew at that moment, but it was barely audible over the screeching of brakes on rails. The steam engine belched thick smoke into the air, and the crowd had worked into a frenzy on the ridge above, screaming and waving about in a near-frenzied panic. "Let me, Sugarcube!" Applejack shouted, swapping places with me, "You grab Rumble, on three!" She turned away from the twisted hunk of metal as though it were merely another apple tree waiting to be bucked. I dropped down, and shot out my forelegs to tackle the foal, as I had done to Spike last night. My wings were already flapping almost to buzzing in anticipation, and I dug into the ground with my outstretched hooves to keep from slamming into the frame of the vane before she'd lifted it.

"One!" Applejack bellowed over the noise of the locomotive. She turned and looked back one last time, to confirm her angle, and I saw the fear in my eyes reflected in hers as she lifted her legs.

"Two!" I could see the train conductor's pupils, and the sweat beads dripping down his face. My hooves had dug a small pile of dirt up in front of me as I revved my wings so hard I thought they would rip right off and fly forward without me.

"Three!" There was a metallic clang, and the weathervane trap shot upwards, twisting away from Rumble as it contacted Applejack's hooves, proving the weaker of the two. I was already moving, the dirt flying away as I lifted my hooves and flashed forward as fast as I had ever flown. I felt his tiny body as I scooped him into my forelegs, and I tucked him up and in, clutching him close as I buffeted my wings out, using the wind from the oncoming train, and the heat of the engine, as a thermal draft that rocketed the two of us into the air at tremendous speed. My entire body strained with the sudden wind shift, but I kept them outstretched as far as the pain would let me.

There was a sound like a wild, primal scream as the train smashed into the weathervane and tore it away from its place on the track, throwing it high into the air with the force of impact. It whistled as it flew, spinning like a top, flashing in the sunlight and throwing reflections in every direction as it did. Landing roughly behind the crowd with a loud metallic groan, it bounced several times before screeching to a stop about fifty feet away.

Meanwhile, I had lost control of the climb due to the extra weight of Rumble, and the unexpected speed at which we had lifted. We spun out, spiraling off to the left, away from the crowd and the train, and began falling almost immediately. "Hold on!" I yelled, and I felt Rumble's hooves wrap tighter around my neck and stomach, as I bent out my wings above me, angling them like a scoop at the ground, in an attempt to slow our descent. At the last second, I twisted, and collapsed my wings in, slamming into the ground on my back to avoid hurting Rumble. The impact knocked the wind out of me, but I had managed to slow us down enough to avoid any major damage.

I lay there in a painful daze, Rumble clinging to me for dear life, as Applejack came galloping over, her breath labored more from worry than effort. "Chaser!"

I coughed, and rolled over, trying to extract Rumble from where he was attempting to burrow into me for safety. "We're okay." I gasped as my lungs finally remembered how to inhale. "We're-" I interrupted myself, coughing dryly several times as I sat up. I finally managed to pull Rumble off, and set him down next to me. He curled up into a ball and sat there, shaking like a tree in a storm. I tried again. "We're fine. Just a bit shaken up. And sore."

The train finally gave a last heaving sigh, and ground to a stop some thirty or forty feet down the track, completely obscuring our view of the crowd behind its many cars. I could see the engineer and his crew scrambling down out of the engine in a panic. I flopped back down, heaving great long sighs of breath, grateful to be alive, even if it hurt to be so at this moment. I patted the colt next to me gently on his back, and breathed, "It's okay, Rumble. You're gonna be alright."

The engine crew of the train came galloping over to the three of us just as Applejack was helping me stand. "Are you kids okay?" asked the engineer, an older stallion in dirty white-washed overalls and a railman's cap. "We come 'round that corner and saw the crowd and we couldn't figure out why they were all standin' around like that."

"We're alright, Dusty. It's okay," Applejack assured the stallion. "Nopony got hurt, and that's the important thing. Is the train okay?"

Dusty, the engineer, glanced back swiftly at the train, grinning. "Oh, it'll take a lot more'n a few scraps of iron to throw ol' Dinah off her track! She'll be fine, Applejack. I'm just glad you three are okay!"

By this point, the crowd had managed to make its way around the train, and was quickly merging with the train's passengers, who were curious as to the sudden stop, I imagined. A swath of earth ponies and unicorns came charging around the front of the train, almost stampeding to reach us. Pegasi came soaring over and out of the train cars, reaching us first. One pegasus in particular landed right next to us, looking very upset, as the others gathered around and quickly formed a large circle. He glared down at the young colt, Rumble, with a stern disapproval that could only come from family.

"Rumble! What in the hay were you doing?!" he spat. Rumble responded by bursting into tears and stammering out an unintelligible apology.

"Hey," I said, still wheezing a bit as I took a step towards the furious stallion, "why so angry, huh? I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose."

He looked up from Rumble, his eyes scanning for a moment before noticing me standing in front of him. His nostrils flared as he pushed his nose into mine. He was a few inches taller than me, so I ended up looking up at him as he bore down on me. "And just who are you?" he challenged.

Applejack stepped forward, as the crowd began to encircle the four of us, and placed a hoof on the angry stallion's shoulder. "He's the stallion who just saved your little brother's life, Thunderlane." She shoved him away from me, and stepped between us, glaring at him. "So back off and simmer down."

He snorted, but didn't advance. Instead, he looked around us, towards Rumble, and said "You better have a real good reason for almost getting yourself pancaked."

Wow. I couldn't believe someone would treat his own brother like that. "C'mon, now. Do you have to be so mean?" I side-stepped Applejack, and came up to face Thunderlane again, standing as tall as I could. "Don't you even care that he's alive?"

Thunderlane did a double-take, and looked at me with a mixture of shock and rage. "Of course I care! He's my little brother. What kind of stallion do you take me for?"

"The kind with more muscles than brains," answered Applejack, snorting derisively. "Just ignore him, Chaser. He's always like this." She turned to Rumble and helped him to his feet. "C'mon, sugarcube. You okay?" Rumble nodded, and wiped his eyes. "You wanna tell us what happened?" she asked him, her tone soothingly maternal.

He had stopped crying, but his voice shook as he turned towards Thunderlane and said, "I'm s-sorry big b-bro. I d-didn't mean to! I was trying t-to fly cool, like you, for m-my friends, a-and I ran into the w-weather thing on Mr. Nimbus's house!"

Thunderlane put a hoof to his forehead, his brow furrowing as he tried to rein in his anger. "Rrgh. That's great. Just great. Do you know how much it's gonna cost to replace that thing?"

"D'you know how much it woulda cost to replace Rumble, you cloudheaded featherbrain?" Applejack was in no mood to entertain Thunderlane's attitude, and her face was starting to turn dark as she whirled around from Rumble to face him again.

I stepped back, away from the two of them, as they proceeded to stare down in a fashion akin to sharpshooters at high noon, like in old cowpony novels. As I did, I bumped into a pony behind me, and spun around to apologize before dropping my jaw in disbelief.

Half the town had to be standing around us! They crowded in, gawking at the scene unfolding between Applejack and Thunderlane. I spun around in a slow circle, seeing ponies in every direction. There were more than a hundred of them, muttering to each other, pushing to get a view of us.

The pony I'd bumped into looked at me and asked in a hushed voice, "Is... is he okay?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered, "he's fine. Just a little shaken up."

The pony turned back to face the crowd, cupping his hooves over his mouth, and shouted, "He's okay!"

The crowd exploded in celebration around us, whooping and hollering, whistling and applause filling my ears. It was extraordinarily loud, and I almost stumbled backwards towards Applejack, who seemed not to notice as she continued glowering at Thunderlane, who returned the stare with equal ignorance of the noise. Rumble seemed confused by all the sound, but as he looked around at the crowd, a smile finally began to grace his features.

A voice grew up from the crowd as ponies started moving off to my left, forming a tiny path for the speaker. "Coming through! Official business. Step aside!" In a few moments, the source of the voice was standing at the center of the crowd, coming in to our little circle right behind Thunderlane. It was an older mare, with a grey mane atop her tan coat. As she stepped into view, the crowd began to die down, and within moments the stillness around us was almost as deafening as the hollering had been. She adjusted her lapel, pushed her half-moon glasses up onto her nose and asked, "What in the name of Celestia is going on here?"

Instantly, Applejack's demeanor changed, and even Thunderlane softened his hard gaze a bit as he turned towards the older pony. Applejack answered, "Miss Mayor! What're you doin' here?"

"The same as everypony else, I imagine, Applejack," she replied incredulously, "trying to find out what's just happened. There's a train just sitting on the track, and a mangled mess of metal in the middle of the median!" She pointed towards the street, where we could clearly see the wreckage of the weathervane over top of the train. "Who is responsible for this... this... event?" she finished, finding no other suitable word to use.

Thunderlane pointed to Rumble accusingly. "My stupid little brother made a huge mess of things trying to show off to his friends."

The mayor stepped back a pace, surprised by the answer. "What?" She craned her neck behind Thunderlane to gaze at the colt standing next to Applejack. "Is... Is this true, Rumble?"

Rumble started to nod, until Applejack put a hoof firmly on his back and answered for him. "It was an accident, Miss Mayor! He didn't mean to cause any trouble. He was just bein' a colt is all, and he hit the weathervane up there-" she pointed to the roof of the house in question, and I noticed for the first time the bent and broken base of the weathervane, where it had snapped clean off its perch, "- and fell onto the tracks. He got stuck underneath, and if it hadn't been for me an' Chaser here-"

"Who?" The mayor asked, stopping Applejack from finishing her defense. She looked around and spied me standing awkwardly off to the side.

"Chaser, ma'am," Applejack told her, pointing to me now, "he grabbed Rumble from under the weathervane. Saved his life." She smiled at me warmly. "If it hadn't been for him, I don't think Rumble'd still be with us."

"Rumble wouldn't have been in any danger if-"

"Thunderlane, that's enough!" the mayor barked, stepping forward to put a stern hoof to his mouth, as a mother shushing her overly talkative child. "I do believe Rumble has suffered enough trauma from this ordeal without your ill-spoken words adding to his wounds." She smacked his ear sharply, and he winced. "Your mother would have a field day if she were in town to hear you talk so harshly of your brother, after all the trouble I remember _you_ causing at his age." I tried not to smirk at him as he stepped back, almost cowed by the mayor's display of control.

She turned towards me, curiosity in her eyes and a light smile playing at the edges of her mouth. "Mr.-" she began to say.

"Please, just Chaser... Ma'am." I interjected, bowing clumsily. "It's just Chaser."

"Well, then." She adjusted her glasses again, and the smile stopped playing and took its place under her nose as she continued, raising her voice to be heard throughout the assembly. "Chaser. As the mayor of Ponyville, it is my sincerest honor to thank you for your courage and selflessness in rescuing one of our own from almost certain death today. Your actions are surely an example to us all. Do you have anything you'd like to say to the fair people of our town?"

The crowd fell completely silent as they waited to hear my response. My mind went blank, and my legs froze up under me as my knees locked in place. I was not a fan of crowds or attention as it was, to say the very least. This level of pressure... My anxiety was in overdrive, pumping a fresh round of adrenaline into my system. I looked to Applejack for help. Advice. An exit. Anything. I tried to speak, but no sound came out.

"Uh, Miss Mayor!" Applejack stepped forward, her eyes flitting from side to side as she searched her brain for an excuse to avoid this. She looked almost as nervous as I was. "Uh, Miss Mayor, Chaser is... Pinkie Pie!"

The mayor glanced at Applejack as though her hat had swallowed her brain. "Chaser is Pinkie Pie?"

A gasp issued from my right. "Oh gosh! Then who am I?"

I turned to see a humongous smile surrounded by a pink face, inches from me. "Aah!" I jumped, "Pinkie Pie!"

She giggled. "Well, we can't _both_be Pinkie Pie, silly!"

"Pinkie," the mayor asked as she fixed her mane, "What are you doing here?"

"Well," she began, taking a huge breath, "I was putting together the decorations for the party I'm throwing for Chaser here tomorrow and I thought to myself, 'Self?'" She stepped to her right and looked over to where she had just been standing. "'Yes, Pinkie?'" She stepped back, and looked the other way. "'We should go find Chaser and make sure he knows what time the party is so he doesn't miss it!' and I said, 'Pinkie, that's a great idea!', and I was like, 'Well, I sure thought so', and so I went out and I was heading through town trying to find him, and then I heard this big CRASH! and so I came running over to see what had crashed, and I saw this crowd of people over here, and I thought 'I wonder if Chaser's somewhere in the crowd', and I said to myself, 'Self?', 'Yes, Pinkie?', 'We should go check that crowd over there and see if anyone knows where Chaser is.' 'Another great idea! You're just chock full of 'em today, Pinkie!' 'I know, self. Thanks for saying so.' 'You are so very welcome!', and so I came running over here to see what was going on and wouldn't you know it, in the very center of the crowd, there he is! Isn't it great?"

Complete silence for almost five full seconds, aside from Pinkie breathing loudly as she recovered from her verbal dumping. Then the mayor adjusted her glasses, again, and stepped forward. "Why, yes, Pinkie. That is quite the story. Are you meaning to say that you are throwing Chaser a party of some sort?"

"Yepperooni! Tomorrow afternoon, we're throwing him a double-decker party- one deck for his 'welcome to Ponyville' party, and the other for his 'thanks for saving Fluttershy from death by timberwolves' party!"

"This is the pony who rescued Fluttershy?" The mayor looked, not at Pinkie, but at me. "... When did you come to Ponyville, Chaser?"

"Um, well... Yesterday morning..." I managed to choke out over the lump in my throat. "Uh, why?"

"You arrived only yesterday morning?" She seemed taken aback by my confession. "You have saved the lives of two of Ponyville's citizens from terrible fates, in a single day's time. We are in your debt." She stepped away, so that she was centered in the circle of ponies, and proclaimed to the crowd, "This stallion is a hero, fillies and gentlecolts! Today we celebrate the arrival of this amazing pony in our fair town of Ponyville - I give you Chaser, everypony!"

A fresh round of applause and cheering rippled through the crowd like wildfire through desert brush. I looked around the circle, disoriented by all the noise. I saw that Thunderlane had almost completely disappeared into the crowd, and Rumble was poking his head around the back of the mayor, to try and get a better view of me. Applejack was grinning from ear to ear, and Pinkie Pie was... well, she was being Pinkie Pie. She had somehow produced party poppers, and was blowing on a party blower as confetti flew in every direction. My head was starting to hurt from all the noise.

Applejack sidled up to me and leaned in so I could hear her over the crowd. "Well, at least now you don't have to worry about anypony dislikin' you, right?"

I swallowed hard, wishing I could shrink away into nothingness. This was not what I had meant to do. "I was just doin' what any good pony would do..." I said, echoing Applejack's statement from earlier that morning. "I don't... deserve this." My vision was starting to go funny, and I was feeling light-headed. My head was throbbing, especially around the bump from earlier.

"Course you do, Sugarcube! ... Hey, are you okay?" She looked at me as though I had something on my face. At least, I think that was what she did. I wasn't really sure what she had said or done at that point, to be honest. She, and the crowd, sounded very far away all of a sudden. And where was all the light going? I didn't really care all that much, actually. My head was killing me!

Applejack tried to ask me something, but I couldn't hear her anymore. My legs suddenly began to sway, and the world pitched sideways as the lights went out completely. The last thing I remembered was someone screaming my name from a very long way off. I thought it might have been Fluttershy...


End file.
